20% of TUAW readers' MacBooks are discolored

mine has gone pink. i thought it was from my bed sheets because i use it mostly while lying on my bed. parts of the keys have gone pink as well, nothing gets it out. i tried metho, tea tree oil and nail polish remover.

I have had this problem before with my old G4 iBook and it really does have a lot to do with your personal body chemistry. My mother has the same computer and the discoloration hasn't appeared after over a year's worth of usage. But don't despair, the discoloration comes right off without damaging the surface using a damp Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser (just be careful not to get it wet inside the keyboard!!). I promise you this works. Good Luck to all of you with this problem.

Ok, ok enough about the poll already- lets just say that an informal poll of readers indicates that an issue exists. Onto the issue, now...

I've studied a fair amount of chemistry, including organic chemistry, and I've also worked extensively with thermoplastics and large batches of photo chemistry. My Dad was a pharmacist. I 'picked up' some things from all of this...

It occurs to me that the cause of a problem like this could be relatively simple -poor quality control in materials- bad or contaminated polycarbonate or mold release material, or relatively complex -an unlikely combination of body chemistry and drug or vitamin interaction. 

It has been stated that the discoloration is (almost) impossible to remove. This observation leads to a potential hypothesis that the discoloration is not a surface affect, but rather imbedded or immersed into the plastic. Polycarbonate is known for its strength and virtual imperviousness. If it is true that a chemical mechanism is affecting the plastic just so, then with a chemical analysis of the plastic itself (and perhaps a list of the owners' perscriptions and supplements) a determination can be made of just what chemical interactions are at the root of the problem.

My advice for those seeing the discoloration on their otherwise perfect MacBooks?

Cut down on the meds!

Hey guys the simple fact that there is dicussion about this is and that there is even a pole for people to be voting is saying something. Wouldn't you agree that if it was a non issue there wouldnt even be a pole?

"6. Jumi, frankly 1,500 reponses is a large enough sample to constitute representative poll, which means that this figure wouldn't change much if I applied it to all our readers."

I argee with Rus. This poll is not representative of the issue, but only representative of the issue for those who came here interested in this issue.

Your poll is sort of equivalent to going to an pro-life rally and asking about abortion...the population you are sampling is not representative of the population at large.

Now if Apple sent out a survey to all users who bought the new MacBook (including myself) I bet they wouldn't find 20% of us have this issue (i'd be shocked if it was even 2%).

Jumi, frankly 1,500 reponses is a large enough sample to constitute representative poll, which means that this figure wouldn't change much if I applied it to all our readers.


Not rational ... 90% of the people with the problem most likely responded to the poll. You can search things out on the internet ... this was not a random sample of Macbook owners where a surveyer caught you by surprise on the street ... an online poll can't factor out competitors and haters either ... therefore giving a much higher +/-

I think the problem is the computer and not who is using it seriously how many other laptops have you heard of having discoloration issues?

Why would anyone buy a mac they have more issues than any other computers.

There is a lesson to be learned here:
Wash your hands before touching your new MacBook.

Seriously though, It would not surprise me if in fact the "stains" were heat discoloration or heat related discoloration. My MacBook runs HOT.

while 1500 responses is typically considered quite sufficient for an opinion poll, in this case you're attempting to pin down a knowable fact, and the same rules don't quite apply. there's more of a burden to verify the data in that case.

to boot, this poll doesn't represent a random sample, in that people with the problem are more likely to have been looking for a poll or willing to step through the process to vote. additionally, no attempt is made on your part to verify the accuracy of respondant's answers. opinion polls of actual significant accuracy tend to be direct, active polls that seek out respondants - often by accosting them in malls, on the streets, or via phone. In this case, your passive poll is far more likely to catch customers actively trying to make their plight known, rather than a statistically significant random sampling....

in other words, you haven't eliminating the possibility that there are people blissfully using their MacBooks sans stains, unaware of your website's existance, while the affected population is actively looking for ways to speak out. For all you know, a significant portion of the affected population reads your blog, or reads blogs that link to it...

Is it not a possible - perhaps even likely - outcome that the affected individuals are far less likely to be looking to talk about their experience with stains they don't have, that a significant number of these owners aren't geeks who read Digg or TUAW, and thus have absolutely no incentive to have ever found your poll, thus decreasing their occurance in your poll?

Whereas the affected population is far more likely to be googling around about their problem, thus finding reports on Digg, TUAW, and elsewhere, thus increasing their occurance?

20% of one TUAW reader's MacBooks are discolored. Seems a bit unfortunate for that one person. And why has only one person been surveyed?

(Should be "20% of TUAW readers' MacBooks are discolored", surely?)