Quote:
Originally Posted By: drakino
Mostly due to needing to isolate the battery compartment from the rest of the machine to ensure people don't damage the mainboard.

There already is such a separator.

Nope, that metal piece doesn't extend all the way to the bottom of the system, and the battery appears to partially sit on top of it. So right there you would have to shave off a bit of the battery along the entire length. This view helps to show that.

Quote:
Originally Posted By: drakino
The casing on the battery would also likely need to be thicker to ensure it is not punctured easily while stored in a laptop bag, once again trimming back space that could be used for storing energy.

Maybe. Then again, if one of the sides was the bottom cover, you'd regain some space. And the new connector seems to take up at least as much space as a contact connector would.

Maybe? The battery in the new MacBook Pro wouldn't pass any number of US or international certifications if it was shipped as a user replaceable part. Puncturing lithium batteries is a very bad idea, and I doubt Apple really wants the ire of the FAA when some dinner knife in first class falls off a tray, punctures some guys laptop bag, and starts a fire.

Originally Posted By: wfaulk
Honestly, I really feel like Apple has an ulterior motive with this non-removable battery thing.

Yes, it's all a big conspiracy to ensure that people debate this on and on again on online forums. Glad you solved it. :-)

Originally Posted By: mlord
Overnight top-ups of, say, 20% count as fractional charges.

Or at least that's been my own experience with notebooks, cellphones, and DSLRs, all using Lithium-whatever batteries.

Correct. On a Mac laptop, it shows the cycle count in system profiler, and their support people tend to use it to determine if a battery needs to be replaced under warranty, or if it is normal.