Over the last few weeks we've searched the internet for clues that might solve the rumors surrounding the alleged new product release from Apple, code-named "Brick." Is it Apple's way of saving consumers money and smashing Windows? Or has Apple finally wised up and decided to expand upon it's "hobby" the Apple TV? Well, according to this weeks Internet rumblings, it's neither. But, it may be Apple's innovative new manufacturing system. 

So again we ask - what exactly is "brick?" We still don't know for sure, and unless they're Steve jobs, no one else does either. Beyond our previous speculations, we've come across rumors of a teeny-tiny little MacBook mini, which we think is as unlikely as the Mac Multi-Touch notebook which we'd push you out of line for, if it was real. But all that seems to be day dreaming. Let's try for some reality.

9to5mac is claiming to have solved the "Brick" mystery. They think that "Brick" represents a new manufacturing process for creating aluminum MacBooks. According to 9to5mac, "The MacBook Brick is a block of high-quality, aircraft grade aluminum. It is the beginning. The beginning of what? It is the beginning of the new Apple manufacturing process to make MacBooks. It is totally revolutionary, a game changer. One of the biggest Apple innovations in a decade." So is this Apple's golden ticket?

Taking this into consideration, this would mean that Apple could stop using the current producers of notebooks in China or Taiwan. Apple could soon soon have full control over their own manufacturing process and maybe even their own plant. "The company has spent the last few years building an entirely new manufacturing process that uses lasers and jets of water to carve the MacBooks out of a brick of aluminum." according to 9to5mac. 9to5mac details the advantages of this process including:

- Carving out of aluminum eliminates the need to bend the metal and create weak spots or microfolds and rifts.
- There are no seams in the final product, so it is smooth.
- Screws aren’t needed to tie the products together.
- The shell is one piece of metal so it is super light, super strong and super cheap.
- You can be a whole lot more creative with the design if you don't have to machine it.

A trip down memory lane reveals that Steve Jobs once created, what CNN Money called "The Ultimate Computer Factory," to build Next workstations. The fully automated factory, according to the article, could run with as few as "100 workers. " Jobs was quoted as saying, "I'm as proud of the factory as I am of the computer." So it seems that Steve may once again prove his worth at Apple if he can pull off a modernized way to produce Apple products. A way of making them faster, better and above all cheaper! There is a little more about this on Seth Weintraub's blog at Computerworld.

All of this is a far cry from previous rumors we've heard about regarding "brick," but it could ring true because we still believe that whatever the "brick" is, it's going to be about saving money for Apple and eventually, us. An innovative new manufacturing process would fit the bill.

So will Steve Jobs, like Willy Wonka, have his own factory soon? If that happens, the "Brick" manufacturing process could be Apple's everlasting Gobstopper. We would like to think that Apple will soon be bringing revolutionary new MacBooks to the market that are lighter, easier to build, and most importantly, cheaper. Until the alleged October 14 event, we'll just add this new bit speculation to the wall of rumors.