Heat, Whine, and Now Yellow MacBooks 411
unPlugged-2.0 writes "It appears that Apple's woes with the new MacBook line continue as there have been reports on the forum that the finish on the new MacBook is flaking off or turning yellow.
An article on Daily Tech
summarizes this report saying:
'Some users have reported the palm rest area, touchpad and mousepad of their new white MacBooks has begun to discolor.' It goes on to say that 'some users on the Apple support forums are reporting moderate to severe discoloration near the palm rest and other locations of their new white MacBooks. At least one user has posted images of the problem to Flickr.'
Is this a case of just dirty hands or could it be another problem in Apple's new Intel saga?"
As long as it works (Score:4, Funny)
Re:As long as it works (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously, though, this is a company that has made it's living on how things look. When they tried to put out standard PC-looking beige boxes, their sales went into the toilet. If it isn't pretty, it can't be an Apple product.
Re:As long as it works (Score:3, Funny)
Who cares what it looks like?
mwuhahahahahah!
But I do believe in fairies.
Re:As long as it works (Score:3, Insightful)
"....this is a company that has made it's living on how things look, as well as how things work, their product reliability, and support."
I sell computers. Most pc customers are concerned with a)lowest price, b)hdd size, c)cpu speed, etc..... and still, many of them recognize what's up when shown the Apple option. Those who switch do it because of the software & support. No one has ever bought a mac from me, just because it was pretty.
As for the palm re
Re:As long as it works (Score:3, Funny)
I've heard beige looks nice.
Re:As long as it works (Score:3, Funny)
Re:As long as it works (Score:5, Informative)
Re:As long as it works (Score:5, Funny)
And when they put out toilet-looking boxes [everymac.com], their sales went beige.
Re:As long as it works (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:As long as it works (Score:2)
Could you make the same claim about the Macs in the article?
Re:As long as it works (Score:2)
Re:As long as it works (Score:2)
Re:As long as it works (Score:2)
Re:As long as it works (Score:3, Funny)
Re:As long as it works (Score:3, Insightful)
However most Mac users are, by definition, more concerned about appearance than their PC counterparts. Apple products are supposed to be shiney. If the Mac in question is as aesthetically shoddy as most clone PCs, then why would you drop the extra money on it?
Of course, stingy PC-using heathen that I am, I don't see why you'd pay extra for a pretty interface and decorative casing in the first place, but that's beside
Re:As long as it works (Score:4, Insightful)
Oh I dunno. What about the popularity of windows? Does that fit the description of something that "works, but isn't pretty"?
Assuming you have two otherwise equal PC products and one has a more attractive interface, better marketing/branding, or is otherwise "prettier" than the other, which one wins in the market? Actually, I wouldn't even say that it has to be a question of equally functional products - appearance can triumph over functionality. Companies ranging from microsoft to AOL are proof of this.
I agree with most of your post, but your average PC user really isn't that different from your average mac user in this regard. It's just us hardcore geeks who care more about utility than appearance.
Re:As long as it works (Score:2)
(1) Is it popular, or is it the only choice for most buyers?
(2) Does it really work (well)? Over the years, I've seen my colleagues on the PC side throw up their hands and reformat/reinstall some Windows version much more often than I've had to resort to the (non-destructive) "archive and install," or earlier "clean install" processes. (I'm a Mac user, and I'd probably be a lifelong
Re:As long as it works (Score:3, Funny)
Works? Your Windows works? Mine just lies around the house all day watching TV and eating potato chips. It never washes the dishes -- and laundry? Sheesh! socks and underwear are piled up to here!
As for pretty, well, it should either shave or grow a proper beard. This "grunge" thing is just awful!"
Re:As long as it works (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:As long as it works (Score:2, Interesting)
I for one care what my NEW Macbook looks like. I paid a premium for my Mac due to OSX and physical appearance. I understand normal wear but this is not normal wear. If this was due to unclean hands, one would think that the discoloration could be removed with cleaning products. IMO this appears to be a chemical reaction with the MacBook's plastic. Yet another reason to not buy a first generation Mac.
Re:As long as it works (Score:4, Funny)
Re:As long as it works (Score:5, Funny)
Re:As long as it works (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah, curse those horrible chemicals! Do you know how many people die each year from the chemical DHMO? And they put that stuff in soft drinks!
Why can't they make these things out of non-chemicals, like plastic, or rubber? Chemicals are the devil, I say!
(For those without a sarcasm gland, the above is should be taken with a grain of salt. Warning: grains of salt should only
Had to be said (Score:3, Funny)
we now return your to your regularly scheduled discussion
It's the Intel chip forcing the case to turn beige (Score:5, Funny)
One question... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:One question... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:One question... (Score:4, Funny)
RTFA (Score:5, Interesting)
Way for you and your moderators to not read the article or the link to the flikr images. Quote: [flickr.com]
The spots don't wash off, I've only had the MacBook for two weeks. Genius at Apple Store told me to call Apple about it, as he's never seen anything like it. My iBook didn't discolor in the 3 years I had it -- can't be my hands. I don't smoke, don't use latex, etc. And for those who worry about my hygiene habits, thanks. I wash my hands.
What's amazing is that you have about 10 responses jumping to the same conclusion. Oh well, I guess that's what we've come to expect on Slashdot.
Re:One question... (Score:2)
They do sweat nicotine (Score:3, Interesting)
You can really see it behind your ears if you're a pack+ a day smoker who's without and sweating. The paper towel will be yellowish.
What? (Score:5, Funny)
I'm shocked, shocked.
Re:What? (Score:2)
Re:What? (Score:3, Funny)
Note to self: stop eating lunch at desk
Re:What? (Score:5, Insightful)
If the keyboard discoloration is a real issue, as opposed to a localized problem (mine doesn't show any signs, though I've only had it for a little while), then its an oversight in the design, not a sign that it was designed without regards to durability.
Seriously... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Seriously... (Score:5, Informative)
I've heard people say that sweat can be acidic, or that the oils are different for some people. Maybe that's true, maybe not, but I do know that I have to change the plastic watch strap I wear every year or so because it becomes brittle and cracks (other people can get away with the same strap for many years). I've even tried swapping to a silicone strap that is supposed to last a lifetime, and it is already hardening after 18 months.
I also own an iBook, and I can verify that when it hit summer and I was doing a lot of coding, the places where I rested my palms got discoloured very quickly - and it wasn't that my hands were dirty (I wash my hands about 15 times or more a day. Before and after eating, etc.).
These palm rest points get hot, and with some people's sweat and hand oil it just leads to discolouration on the notebook. It comes off with an eraser or the Mr. Clean eraser products, so it isn't damage to the plastic. It's just something that has been transferred to the surface.
Quit doing... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Seriously... (Score:4, Funny)
PC Guy: Hi! I'm a PC!
Apple Guy: Hi! I'm an Apple!
(They finish up and the Apple guy goes to wash his hands, the PC guy heads right out)
Apple Guy: (Smugly) Over at Apple they teach us to wash our hands!
PC Guy: Over in PC land they teach us not to piss on our hands!
Erasers work indeed. (Score:4, Insightful)
But I have another problem: Over the course of the past two years, the keyboard has slowly lost its imprints. First on the "s" (where my ring finger rests during touch-typing), then on the "e", "a" and "c" keys (for the first two, it's probably the frequency with which they're hit, for the "c" it might be because of the angle at which my index finger hits it: with the nail). It doesn't seem to be a common problem, but Apple won't replace the keyboard (despite my AppleCare contract), because it is a standard usage effect, they claim. Granted, I don't need to see the keys during typing, but it sure looks ugly. Let's see how this problem turns out with the new machines.
Apple user that forgot to wash their hands? (Score:5, Funny)
The Windows user washes his hands, takes only one paper towel and uses even the last little bit. He says: "Windows users are not only thorough, but very economical."
Then they look at the Linux user who just walks out of the door, looks back and says: "Linux users don't piss on our hands."
Re:Apple user that forgot to wash their hands? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Apple user that forgot to wash their hands? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Apple user that forgot to wash their hands? (Score:2)
Re:Apple user that forgot to wash their hands? (Score:2, Funny)
Yellow and flaky? (Score:5, Funny)
If there's a bit of orange then it's probably just the Cheetos.
Re:Yellow and flaky? (Score:2)
"You're an asshole if you spell it as 'your'."
Thanks, I feel better now
Justin.
Re:Yellow and flaky? (Score:2)
it's not a new issue (Score:5, Informative)
Re:it's not a new issue (Score:2)
Tip? Wash hands occasionally.
Re:it's not a new issue (Score:3, Informative)
The plastics are different - they look different, they feel different. I owned an iBook G4 and used it for years, with no discoloration. I've had my MacBook for 3 weeks, and it's developing faint yellowish "stains" on the palm rest that won't wash off. I'm a very clean person, a non-smoker, I wash my hands frequently, and this isn't dirt or tar from cigarette smoking (as a few people on the discussion forums have erroneously concluded). It's some kind of chemical reaction with the natural o
Re:it's not a new issue (Score:5, Informative)
Re:it's not a new issue (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:it's not a new issue (Score:2)
Re:it's not a new issue (Score:2)
I'm on my ibook close to 15 hours a day.
Hasn't happened here.
Re:it's not a new issue (Score:2)
"It's the reason that white shirts turn yellowish as well - until bleached (but don't try to bleach your computer)."
White shirts that turn yellowish do so for a couple reasons, and human sweat is only a small portion of it. Yellow spots under the pits? That's due more to the aluminum (aluminium to those who prefer) salts in your antiperspirant than to body oils -- though people who do not use antiperspirant will notice browning from oil
Re:OT: To get white, add blue. (Score:3, Insightful)
This was actually a pretty annoying problem for me when I last painted the interior of my house -- blue painters' tape on the walls made an off-white ceiling paint seem brilliant white when I cut in the edges... when the tap
Re:OT: To get white, add blue. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:it's not a new issue (Score:2)
I've used plenty of white / cream keyboards for years and they get mucky but any discolouration is as easy to remove as scratching it with a nail or rubbing it down with a wet wipe. If Apple laptops are getting permenantly stained, perhaps people should be getting angry with Apple for producing crap laptops that can't even last a few weeks without getting marked.
Apple proponents harp on about the "quality" of their
Re:it's not a new issue (Score:2)
mine is clean still (Score:2)
Cleaning Solution (Score:2)
Black MacBook (Score:5, Funny)
Nope (Score:2)
Not surprised (Score:2, Informative)
A flavor for everyone it seems (Score:4, Funny)
For the cool designers there's the black MacBook.
For the party-party people there's now the new Nicotine-yellow colored MacBook.
They're not alone (Score:4, Funny)
I just put it down to loneliness...
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Cleaning agents. (Score:4, Funny)
Come on, we all know that would never work.
So...? (Score:2, Interesting)
News flash, when you use something there's this phenomena that we call "wear and tear". Nothing will stay new forever, get over it.
Re:So...? (Score:2)
Re:So...? (Score:2)
As a side note my friend's laptop disco
Re:So...? (Score:2)
Hmm (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hmm (Score:3, Funny)
http://media.putfile.com/s-Show---Apple-Switch-Sp
Not new to the apple laptops... (Score:2)
Re:Not new to the apple laptops... (Score:2)
Dirty hands...or natural skin oil problems... (Score:4, Informative)
I know the reason for my having this problem is somewhat related to genetics and possibly diet. My family (on my dad's side) has a history of what I can only term high sebum production. These oils (possibly combined with sweat) make for a fairly damaging mix on devices, especially plastics which just seem to absorb them. It is a problem I have experienced with many devices, including a desktop keyboard that began to lose the letters from constant use and an old Intellimouse explorer that is much darker near the area where my palm rests.
This could be the problem in this case, since Sebum tends to be yellow-to-orange in color, it does make up part of ear wax to give you an idea. Of course, the easy way to test if this truly is a problem with the design or simply the ill effects of the human bodies natural excretions would be to use the MacBook with external keyboards and mice only and see if one discolors anyway. I really think you are going to have a hard time convincing anyone, especially if you decide to attempt a suit (which always seems like a common threat).
What does this have to do with intel? (Score:4, Insightful)
Not so sure (Score:4, Interesting)
I use my laptop 18 hours a day, and smoke more often than I should (nicotine rules/sucks). She washes her hands every 15 minutes and uses her laptop about an hour a day. I am no detective, but I'm pretty sure you don't have to be to figure out what's going on here.
The whine? Over heating? Not enough RAM? check check and check. Turning yellow? WASH YOUR HANDS, then complain. Stop being distracting- Apple has *real* issues to fix.
Dirty Hands (Score:2)
Apple Marketing 101 (Score:2)
Think Dirty - *blush*
KISS Solution... (Score:2, Insightful)
I'm surprised that no-one's suggested the most obvious solution - clear film.
Just buy some Contact or some other sort of plastic clear film, cut it to shape - wrist area, trackpad, trackpad button, maybe even the keys too if you like - and thoroughly clean the surface where you're going to apply it, then stick the clear film there.
What's Contact cost these days? $2 a roll?
That should stop the oil and sweat screwing with the finish, and if you apply it to the keys too, it'll stop that fading that may happ
Re:KISS Solution... (Score:2, Informative)
Why every other laptop in the world is black (Score:2)
Apple on the outside ... (Score:2)
Apple on the outside
My Gateway laptop has the same thing (Score:2)
Spot Bleeding (Score:2)
Anyways, it's common sense people. If you're going to use a computer after you eat, WASH YOUR HANDS--ESPECIALLY IF IT'S CHEETOS!!!
Colored (Score:3, Funny)
MacGyver Tip: Clean your Macbook with nail polish (Score:4, Informative)
You reap what you sew (Score:4, Funny)
"Hey, Johnson, it looks like someone smeared poo all over your laptop."
"It's not a laptop, it's a MacBook. It's supposed to be brown."
"Ooooh, nice then. Keep up the great work!"
Simple Green (Score:4, Informative)
Sometimes for a bit more built up areas (around the edges of large keys and such) it helps to dab the icky spot to dampenen it, then rub back over it a few minutes later.
Just be sure not to get any drops down in between the keys... That has the potential for badness.
Re:Simple Green (Score:4, Funny)
not surprising (Score:3, Insightful)
The previous case top of the ibook was a fairly (but not completely) smooth surface and was a slightly off shade of white. It was also a very hard plastic and I suspect very chemically inert. When I do have to clean them, they are not terribly difficult to get the grime off from, though it does require some force and use of alcohol. On the ibooks its also somewhat common to see a circular area in the central region of the trackpad, colored slightly lighter than the surrounding area of the trackpad. That's caused by the less used area of the trackpad getting more grimey. Those can be a little more difficult to clean due to the texture of the trackpad. It's also possible to chip the trackpad's sensor surface if you are rough with it.
I also find that I have to clean the palm areas of my powerbook from time to time, usually about once a month as grime starts to build up under my palms and around the trackpad.
These stories about yellowing of the macbooks is somewhat of a surprise, but not really. This is not caused by heat. It's a combination of grime from the user's hands, possibly combined with a chemestry problem between the user's body oils and the plastic of the top case.
I would personally consider this a defect, since it's fairly clear that inadequate research was done by Apple to determine if there was going to be such an issue with their new case design. Also as others have pointed out, Apple makes quite a name for itself as a good looking computer, and issues like this do a lot more harm to the Apple brand than they would to say, Dell. The Apple users tend to be more demanding as to the cosmetic appearance of their computer, and react much more strongly when an issue develops.
This is not the first time a case design has been a problem. Owners of "titanium" powerbook G4s will remember the "tibook paint" issue, where the outer border of the case, a carbon fiber, had problems with the paint easily chipping off and sometimes cracking and flaking off under the user's wrists. There were also issues with watches worn on the wrist causing almost immediate removal of the paint from the CF border. To my knowledge Apple fixed their manufacturing process (new paint or primer?) but did not recall those units despite a lot of upset owners' complaints. With the tibook, the top case was the frame of the computer, onto which everything was assembled. To replace the top case of the tibook was extremely labor intensive. With the ibook, the top case is somewhat easier to replace. Not sure on the macbook. This will factor into Apple's willingness to issue a recall.
I am a former owner of such a tibook, but for me I care much less about appearance and more about performance, so it didn't bother me that much. I took a hard plastic blade and finished the job so the computer at least looked more balanced rather than have two isolated wear spots. My current computer, an "aluminum" powerbook, has to be cleaned periodically to keep the grime off the palmrests.
If the discoloration can be cleaned off with alcohol, it's probably just a grime issue. That discoloration is not the color I am used to seeing though - usually grime is very dark in color, but this appears to be a cream or light yellow. I would tend to suspect a chemical change is occurring in the plastic based on a combination of oils from the user's hands, accellerated by the heat produced by the computer. (this could not be removed with alcohol) Apple may have to change the composition of the plastic of the case, or coat the top deck somehow, to reduce or prevent this problem.
I believe the design of the new macbooks should b
Not new to Apple (Score:2)
Busines oportunity! (Score:3, Funny)
Macbook Pro owner (Score:5, Interesting)
What amazes me is how much attention from the media and computer people these "problems" get. My Macbook did run slightly warm until the SMC update which fixed that. The whine people talk about isn't noticable if I set the notebook next to any desktop or old PC laptop I have. Also the whine typically last for 5 minutes in the morning when I boot. I use the notbook so much now that I put it to sleep and don't shutdown which means no whine. As for discoloration I've used mine everyday for two months and it looks brand new. Searching the net I've only found two cases so far of this.
When using Windows your entire OS seems to slow down. You have a constant barrage of spyware and crap attempting to install. When you uninstall a program you wonder how many pieces are left over and what the effects will be. I mean with Windows I just came to expect problems ever since I started using version 3.0. I'd say that I have had way less problems with the Macbook than any other laptop I've ever owned (at least 10 Inspirons and Vaios). After fixing heavy Dell laptops for clients I've come to hate them and their tech support and yet they are still one of the best PC hardware companies out there. I've had even worse times dealing with Toshiba and Sony.
People just expect everything to be perfect on Mac and any conceivable problem is major news in the industry. To me that says so much about how good the product really is. I always made fun of Mac in the past because before OSX and Intel they had huge roadblocks that kept me from using them. Even though I didn't really want to use one or support it now I don't think I can go back to using Windows or Linux for my client desktop. I will say for servers though Unix is still the only option for me. I believe in the right tool for the job. At this point Windows only use is for my clients who don't think they can live without it yet constantly cry for help. My Mac and Linux users very rarely ask for any help only the Linux guys are all developers.
I am having a similar problem with my Osborne 1 (Score:3, Funny)
This is what you get for having a good rep... (Score:4, Funny)
The support threads Apple doesn't want you to read (Score:3, Informative)
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID =2516244 [apple.com] = 516645&tstart=0 [apple.com]
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID
Locked discussions get a terse, "Unless otherwise noted, your Submission should either be a technical support question or a technical support answer." Er...what part of it's turning #@$%^! yellow!!! don't you understand?