The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Fortunately anonymous online polling is accurate to about +/- 20%...

Statistics can be used to prove anything, 15% of people know that!

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You might want to bring up the percentage on that poll a bit.

I originally said no, but now it is starting to change. Additionally, the bezel is starting to change where I usually put my hand so I can adjust the viewing angle of the screen...maybe there is an oil or enzyme secrete by certain parts of the population that react with the plastic and cause it to discolor? I'd love to do a study on this since it is all that I do in school these days...but I am afraid that in order to finance the study with fresh lappies for individuals would be outrageous! (Hint Hint)*

I suggest making another poll and see if there is a correlation between ethnicity and discoloration. Maybe it is something in the gene pool of certain populations…then we might be able to dissect this further.

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...I could be wrong of course...but you never know if you don't take preliminary action

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What I think is more interesting than the percentage is the physical number of people. That kind of a percentage can either seem unimpressive or far too high, but regardless over 300 viewers have said there's discoloration on their MacBooks (if they were all telling the truth). That doesn't seem insignificant to me.

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You write that "20% of TUAW reader's MacBooks exhibit discoloration" -- in reality, you can only say that 20% of TUAW reader's who responded to this poll indicated that they have discolored Macbooks -- a very different thing, with far less certainty.

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I agree. A larger and a more representative sample is in order. ...so many confounding variables...

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I think what we should focus on is what Jumi pointed out:

"...you can only say that 20% of TUAW reader's who responded to this poll indicated that they have discolored Macbooks..."

...Some people may have done the poll BECAUSE they identify with it where others may have ignored the poll for any number of reasons regardless if their Macbook was changing colors or not...

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The poll's post says "If you believe that your MacBook has this problem, vote on this poll" not "If you have a Macbook, vote on this poll".

That statement seems to make the point of the poll to get as high a yes/no ratio as possible.

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Talking about opinion polls, the people polled in an opinion poll are not just some random sample, e.g. the first 1500 to respond, they are carefully selected in order to not skew the resuts one way or another. No point having an opinion poll if it isn't as accurate as possible. In this case it is probably more likely that someone who does have some discoloration would contribute to the poll than someone who does not. This kind of poll cannot be extrapolated to represent the answers for a larger group.

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As a Macbook Pro owner, I was afraid of scratching or damaging the surface of my computer with my watch. After doing some research, I found out about the Protection Pack from Marware.

Looking at the site after reading this article, I found that Marware offers a version of the kit for the Macbook (both white and black versions). The kit comes with a wrist protector and a keyboard cover which also doubles as a microfiber screen cloth. It's form-fitting and doesn't interfere with the opening or closing of the computer. Because it adheres to the surface of the Macbook, it should also prevent the discoloration issue.

At $20, it's definitely worth looking into.

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So as a new MacBook owner, how long does it take before this discoloration starts happening?

I haven't noticed anything yet, but I have only had it for 11 days.

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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?)

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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 +/-

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"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%).

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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?

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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!

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