Some people regard technical feature of their notebooks as the equivalent of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, according to Chris Matyszczyk at CNET on Friday. The most important thing, however, about Appleis new notebooks to be announced on October 14 might be how they look and what it will be like to be seen with one.

The author noted that some might fear that Apple will pander to the masses with an inexpensive MacBook that will be short on specs. Instead, he wrote, "Itis not about moving below or above your price point. Itis about how you do it."

In fact, whatis really important is whether the new MacBook will be cute. Thereis good reason for that. Appleis brand is now so strong, the company can "tiptoe through its competitorsi tulips and check out the undersoil, Mr. Matyszczyk wrote. [He was very likely suggesting that time is right, in this economy, to take a hit on gross margins, just a tad, to make life difficult for the competition.]

Thereis no doubt Apple understands what the technical requirements for a modern notebook computer need to be. With every other competitoris notebook looking like creaky old General Motors car from the 90s, the right kind of industrial design and touchy-feely design by Apple could increase the laundry bills at a certain facility in Austin, Texas considerably.