'scates I think Jobs did mention the Al favourably in comparison to Ti, but you and I both know he is *the* master of "spin".
Although I can't remember it exacty, I think it was something along the lines of lighter and still strong. Perhaps not as strong as Titanium - they certainly touted that as one of the lightest and strongest metals known to man when the TiBooks were introduced.
As for black - sure it would be a great change ... would suit music equipment and definitely look good on stage as well, but I agree with Paul, the aluminium look for the Pro gear is what ties it all together nicely. If they changed the PowerBook casing colour, I would think that would necessitate a display and possible G5 case colour change at some stage in the future too. Considering those displays were finally updated this year - not before time
- I don't see it happening too soon in the future.