Thanks. So I see Mac has made a stupid mistake, and now it’s in production. Geez. Just when I was getting to like the machine.
Are you certain it's a "stupid mistake?" They said that exact phrase when Apple dropped floppy drives from the first iMacs back in 1998.
In this instance, uncased, unprotected Li-Poly batteries are dangerous in the wrong hands. Just as, for a similar reason, you cannot user-replace the explosive airbags in the dashboard of your car for safety reasons, Apple has elected to make these batteries non-user replaceable.
In addition, by doing the replacement themselves, they control disposal, getting them greenie points from the environmental wackos that have been beating up on them recently despite the fact that Apple had the best environmental practices in the industry. This fact helped tip the entire MacBook Pro line over into the Epeat Gold rating.