17" MacBook Pro Battery Replacement = $179

"Apple's only hardware announcement yesterday was the 17" MacBook Pro revision which brings the laptop in-line with the rest of the unibody laptops introduced in November. The new notebook brings a few welcome changes to the high-end Apple notebook, including a maximum of 8GB of RAM. The non-replaceable battery, however, has generated some complaints but Apple's promises that their technology should allow the battery to last 5 years before it needs replacing. When that time comes, Gizmodo was told that the battery replacement will cost $179."

*sigh*

I'm so not happy about the non-removable battery, and I'm so not buying any of the reasons it exists.  If you have the 15" MacBook Pro, look at the battery cover.  It's paper thin.  Is Apple seriously telling us that a paper-thin battery cover would change the dynamics of the design that much that they couldn't make the battery removable?  Secondly, a lot of folks are saying that the hard disk is accessible in the new model by removing the lower panel of the case.  If that's the case, why is the battery inaccessible?  Anyway, be prepared; if you buy the 17" MacBook Pro, replacing that non-accessible wonder of a battery won't be cheap.