Google out of Touch with current Mac Line-up

One thing I noticed last week while I was considering how to spend some business profits to lower my tax payments (always fun) on the Apple Store was that Apple now scrooge on the Apple Remote across the entire MacBook range - it was even debatable if the new MacBook Air even worked with the remote.

The Apple Remote, which is primarily used to control Front Row, is now a $29AUD add-on (you could purchase it at a later date - but would then have to pay shipping if your total order was not over $100).

Since the remote first appeared it has shipped with Apple all the MacBooks and consumer desktops "in the box". It is still a standard includ with the iMac and Mac mini. I wonder why Apple have decided to drop it as an incision in latest round of MacBook product updates? It seems even Google (Official Google Mac Blog: Most Mac models today ship with a six-button remote control…) were not aware of the change to the status-quo. I doubt it would be a cost saving measure - the device is so simple at mass-production it would cost less than $5. It's also feather light, so it would add next-to-nothing in additional shipping costs. One issue I see is that the current MacBooks may not be updated for a while and Apple do not want issues/complaints about flat batteries, or acid leaks. But I really hope they are about to launch a redesigned remote that looks like the 2nd generation iPod Nano. I think the anodised aluminium would look like it belonged next to the new slim line keyboards, on the base of the latest iMacs and and the higher-end MacBooks. Now that would be nice.