Apple is expected to refresh its MacBook Pro line soon with a new ultra-thin design and retina display. It's easy to assume the new MacBook Pro would take cues from Apple's featherweight MacBook Air, but a 9to5mac.com report claims that is not to be.

While the new case is said to be much thinner in no small part to the omission of an optical drive, it lacks the Air's airfoil taper. It is expected to have USB 3 along with Thunderbolt connectivity.

Are all of us ready for life without an internal optical drive? I can't recall the last time I used mine. Every time I look at it I see visions of an SSD. If not, there are external options.

A prototype may have been caught in the wild. A GeekBench reference to a MacBookPro9,1 has appeared bearing a 2.7GHz Ivy Bridge quad-core processor,  8GB of RAM, and a build of the upcoming OS X Mountain Lion.

If it is true, blame the end of the 17-inch MacBook Pro on weak sales.

According to Mac Rumors, research analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has a decent track record on Apple product predictions, and Kuo estimates just 50,000 17-inch models account for the 3.1 million notebooks sold by Apple in the first quarter of 2012.

Is the death of Apple's super-sized laptop being greatly exaggerated? The emergence of affordable large displays users can tap at home or at the office makes it is harder to justify the cost of the big lug. And the weight?

While some see it as sacrilege to deface the often austere industrial design of their notebook computer, we've noticed vinyl decals are becoming more popular. Etsy.com has dozens if not hundreds of clever options, many $10 or less, to appeal to just about anyone. While most play off the Apple logo they could be applied to other laptops. Here are a just a few.

Gallery: Laptop decals

Sharon Van Etten isn't opposed to using a notebook for songwriting. But she never seems to use one, mostly because she can't keep up with it.

"I'm just a naturally spacy person, so I'm always forgetting my notebook," Van Etten said in a recent interview. "So I'll write something on a scrap of paper, put it in my pocket and then find it weeks later -- 'Oh yeah, I like that line.' It's always bits and pieces here and there, never a whole song. I think I need to get back in the habit of carrying a notebook. I have to work on that."

Regardless, it's working for her pretty well lately. For more on Van Etten's excellent new album and upcoming Triangle show, see the preview in Friday's paper.

More vinyl decal designs have emerged for those who want to add a touch of style to their laptops.

More photos on the jump.