Filed under: Portables, MacBook
TUAW Poll: Does your MacBook exhibit discoloration?
If you believe that your MacBook has this problem, vote on this poll, submit your details to Stainedbook.info and make sure to contact Applecare to notify Apple of the problem.
Disclaimer: Please, only vote on this poll if you own a white MacBook. We're trying to get a handle on the percentage of white machines affected by this problem. Black MacBooks do not seem to exhibit this problem.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kevin said 9:17AM on 6-21-2006
Alright,
I haven't said anything up until now, but I've had my Macbook for almost a month now. I do a lot of browsing, photoshop, playlist managing, IM'ing with the trackpad/keyboard. Lately, its' been getting hot in the past weeks in Canada, sometimes really sweaty. My housmate's also borrow my Macbook sometimes and use it to check up on stuff quickly, review reports, etc. so it's been touched by a few hands already.
I'd say i'm a fairly average normal clean guy, i was my hands after going to the bathroom, and mornings and before/after meals,... the normal times you'd wash hands, don't use any sanitzer or anything, foam soap or normal soap...
Still to this minute, not any hint of discolouration/yellowing/browning/dark spots..'. its still the flat coloured whitish grey that it always was.
now then, all these pictures that i've seen on the internet, i could swear i can reproduce with a simple dodge tool in photoshop? is this just a select few ppl who want to tarnish the apple image by randomely putting up these pictures? anytime i hear of a new discolouration report on macnn, macforums, etc, its always by a forum newb with 1 post?
and what about the apple whitebooks at apple stores, etc? shouldn't they be the dirtiest of all by now?
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rafalski said 9:22AM on 6-21-2006
I suggest you made it clear it applies to white only, ie:
"Does your white MacBook exhibit discoloration?"
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J3 said 9:47AM on 6-21-2006
Sorry buddy... but I beg to differ. I'm not only clean, but I happen to be one of those meticulous people who most people would consider takes too good of care of their computer. I take my watch off to make sure that the area next to the trackpad won't get messed up in any way.
Now my computer isn't as bad as some of those pictures I've seen, but I can glance down at my computer and see it. My stain is a very smooth gradient on both sides, more noticable on the right side, which is no suprise because I'm a "righty". There's a little bit of staining on the lower part of my trackpad button, and again it's slightly shifted to the right. What I just realize while writing this, is that there some staining right below/next to the command and option/enter keys. I'd take a picture of all of this, but I don't have a camera at the moment. I've already tried my isight.
So as much as I wish you were right and this was all some big hoax, I can say that it isn't for me :/
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Kevin said 10:03AM on 6-21-2006
Sad to hear J3.
On another note, before my white macbook and white iMac isight, I had a Toshiba Satelitte M33C series.
When looking back, that toshiba ran as hot as my macbook gets, but the worst part was, the hot spot was right where the trackpad/palm rests are... rendering it wayyy too uncomfortable to use. At least the macbook hotspot is on the bottom, near the back, away from the hands area. And also when I think about it, that too got "discolouration" stains, it was a silver finish, which dulled over time in the shape of my palm/thumbs (probably more similar to the blackbook smudge patterns). Anyway, that thing broke down and that was why i bought my first mac (imac g5 17" w/ isight, haha then a month later the intel comes out... damn you apple) that's why i wanted to get a macbook when it first came out. so i dont get screwed like that again lol
but i ordered this, which should be arriving soon,
http://www.shieldzone.com/item_description/APPMCBF.html
from the makers of Invisible Shield for your iPods and such... I'll make sure to take before and after pics and post it up somewhere... although, i dont know where...
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Dale Mugford said 10:05AM on 6-21-2006
My question for everyine who's expereinced problems is, have you brought it to an Apple Store, and if so, what did they have to say about it when they looked at it?
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Mark said 10:23AM on 6-21-2006
my question is...with those invisible shields, does it cause everything it covers (i.e. trackpad and matte finished palm rest area) to become shiny, or is it pretty invisible to the naked eye? I've only used stuff like this on my ipod which is shiny already. Thanks
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Mark Studdock said 10:38AM on 6-21-2006
I don't know about this - is it really that obvious. I have a white iBook G4 (about a year old) and it has discoloration under where my hands rest and on the trackpad as well as being smoother on the trackpad than originally. But this has never really bothered me - you really have to look to see it. It's probably just the difference in paint they use that is more fragile than on iBooks.
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Eric said 10:39AM on 6-21-2006
I called Applecare about this last week. They took my concerns seriously and gave me a case number in case it got any worse. I can't stress enough how important it is to call and make them aware of the problem. It takes a lot to get that information to the people who can fix it for you.
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Thayne Miller said 10:47AM on 6-21-2006
I love my macbook to death, and a few weeks ago I touted out that this was a hoax. It's not. My macbook now has stains and several people that I've showed it off to have pointed it out upon first opening the macbook. I'm calling applecare today. I have to say, this is a fantastic machine, but yeah, in a month or two it's going to look ugly.
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Thayne Miller said 10:48AM on 6-21-2006
TUAW: Run this poll again in 2 months and I bet the results will be drastically different!
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Kevin Ginger said 11:02AM on 6-21-2006
I have seen this recently on the last gen iBook G4. The client replaced it with the same model and it happened again within 2 weeks. Something to do w/ certain chemistry/PH in skin oil/sweat?
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maddman said 11:07AM on 6-21-2006
#5 - the invisible shields do make the parts you put it on shiny (its essentially a plastic sticker) but i'd personally rather have it a little shiny rather than it turning yellow
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Mark said 11:09AM on 6-21-2006
I don't own a MacBook.
I do own two G5 iMacs, acquired in December 05.
My wife and I are both clean.
My Mighty Mouse -- Looks fine.
Her Mighty Mouse has a gray smudge to the right of the scroll wheel. It doesn't come off. It's on the right, so it's not even the primary click spot.
As soon as the stories started coming out on the MacBooks I was reminded of that...anyone else see it on their mice?
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Chris said 11:10AM on 6-21-2006
If the poll is for White MacBooks why do wait until the Disclaimer (the 3rd paragraph) to inform the reader of this.
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Mr. Bitter Pants said 11:41AM on 6-21-2006
"If you believe that your MacBook has this problem, vote on this poll,"
so if you don't believe you have a problem, you're not allowed to vote? kinda biasing your results aren't you?
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bobics said 12:00PM on 6-21-2006
By simply being a blogging site, the poll is already biased. It's almost certainly from hand oils / sweat, so if you don't have the discolorations yet probably a few preventative measures like wiping the surface after use and washing your hands should minimize it.
I have a white MacBook which I've had for 3 weeks, and I don't have this particular problem (yet). I use it about 10-12 hrs a day and haven't done any physical maintenance beyond adding RAM and the occasional wiping fingerprints off the screen. That said I have pretty dry hands.
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Lesly said 12:10PM on 6-21-2006
the keyboard of my iMac has also some slight discolorization (even my Mighty Mouse)... i don't know if it is the same issue but for what its worth:
i remove most of those by wiping of with some 'Adidas after shave lotion (Sport)' (this is not meant to be an advertisement ;))... it helps a bit but the discolorization happens again after some time.
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kjk said 12:16PM on 6-21-2006
have a macbook bought the first day they came out-it moos, but no stains/discoloration anywhere. Caveat: I don't type with my hands resting on the wrist area, but do use the trackpad/trackpad button exclusively (not a mouse), so that area gets a lot of use, as does the lower left edge where I rest my hand. (yeah, I've been paying attention to my habits since I first read of the issue :p)
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Mike said 12:35PM on 6-21-2006
I've had my white MacBook for 8 days and it runs hotter than a mother. I haven't had any discoloration but I'm not voting in the poll yet because they could still develop, I guess. I'll give it about a month without any problems before I say I don't have them.
Also, it has been said that non-acetone nail polish remover will remove the discoloration/stains. Is that true? Because every photo I've seen saying it works shows an iBook and not a MacBook. I know they're similar but I'm sure there are differences and the iBooks stains probably didn't develop in a couple weeks.
Just by looking at the pics it seems that the soft plastic itself is becoming discolored and not stained. If so, then I don't see how anything could wipe it off or clean it.
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jack said 12:50PM on 6-21-2006
I have had something similar to my iBook G4. It's not as bad, but the trackpad and area to the right and left of it is discolored. I used a disinfectant wipe with some sort of alcohol on it to wipe the part where my wrists will usually rest. That took care of most of it. The trackpad is still sort of darker than it used to be, though.
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