So, I’ve been using my new MacBook a ton since I picked it up on Saturday. I sat down at my Mac mini for a little while and it feels dog slow by comparison. Not that my mini is not a great machine, its just not a dual core powerhouse. The screen is fantastic. The keyboard feel is really nice. The trackpad is quite usable with the new right click and scroll features.
There are a few issues, though. The first one is pretty minor, but I’ve noticed it. It seems that, even with the new, lowered keyboard, the keys still touch the screen when it’s closed, leaving familiar marks when I open it back up. So far, I haven’t been able to notice the marks with the screen turned on, but they’re very visible while it’s still black.
The other issue is a much bigger one. The front edge of the system is very sharp. It’s not really an issue when I’m typing because my wrists do not rest on the case. Using the trackpad is another story altogether. When I’m sitting on the couch, or in bed and I’m using the trackpad my wrists rub against the font edge of the system and it’s very uncomfortable. It seems like a pretty big design flaw to have such a sharp edge.
I looked this up online to see if it was somehow just my system, but lots of people have made this complaint. In the message boards, some people suggest that users should just not allow their wrists to rest on the case, but that’s sort of a silly suggestion. Sure, there is a proper way to sit and type and whatnot while computing, but we’re talking about a laptop. Not only a laptop, but Apple’s smallest, least expensive, and most portable laptop. It’s the kind of machine that college student will be getting this fall. You can’t very well expect to walk into a dorm room and see a bunch of college students sitting at desks with perfect posture. This thing is gonna be used on busses, trains, and plains. It’s gonna be used on laps, in beds, on couches, and on the go.
I like the system far too much to return it becuase of this flaw, but my wrists are a bit sore already and it’s only been like 6 days. If it remains a problems, I may just have to file it down or something. I think I’ll just wait a bit and see what others do.
Sir… I like you researched the sharp edge problem. I unlike you did not wait to see what goes on and decided to return the macbook (the oven) to the Apple store where it was purchased. I explained to the manager that i was there to see if there was a remedy for the ONLY flaw that my wife was unwilling to live with (keep in mind she is “graduating” from a G3 ice white 12″ 800MHz iBook). One guy suggested that she might be typing incorrectly. I asked if Apple was paying for the typing and ergonomics classes that my wife should sign up for to remedy the situation. “Well, there is this product that tilts the machine…”, I said STFU already. Is Apple going to pay for this product that my wife is forced to use to save her wrists?. I am willing to pay good cash on a bet that wagers on a quick redesign of the sharp edge on the Macbook. The sad part is that in order to avoid admitting that it a is a design flaw, Stevie will put the new case on a duo core 2 machine instead of a revision to the macbook duo core. In the meantime, like you sagely point out the obvious: A large number of PC based users that are comming to the right side will be proven correct when they go back to their PC with cut wrists (well , ok, not cut, per se but rather severly pained and marked wrists). Why should a person in search for an affordable intel based duo core machine even consider a torture device such as the MacBook when not one laptop in exsistence (apple or otherwise) inflicts such intolerable pain on its users for such a high price? How many additional cents does it cost apple to rig a machine with a dremel that can sand every macbook before it exits the factory? heck, I would pay $20 more dollars on top of the over $1000 to get my machine feeling right if I were my wife.
The bottom line is that I am sure mercedez benz would have a factory full of cars if the only flaw was that a sharp edge was on the 5 and 7 o’clock positions ot their stearing wheels. Oh, and don’t feed me the line about driving correctly with your hands at the 10 and 2 o’clock position would eliminate the problem.
I returned the machine and the smart apple store manager waived the 10%restocking fee before i snapped… Fothermuckers!
I encountered the same problem. Here’s what I ended up doing: http://pete4512.blogspot.com/2006/10/macbook-sharp-edges.html
I too have suffered this problem for months; last night I got to work with some sandpaper – and it’s worked a treat! how I wish I’d done this ages ago. So easy. I just masked everything off VERY carefully (screen, keyboard, all ports, DVD slot etc) with paper & masking tape, to within a couple of millimetres of the troublesome edge – then took some 150 grit for a first quick rub followed by some 320 grit paper for a really good smoothing off rub, dusted off with a clean paintbrush & removed the paper – and hey presto it’s like having my good old ibook G4 back under my wrists!! I know this shouldn’t be necessary; I know that it seems brutal and scary but really it was perfectly straightforward, took about 15 minutes, is invisible to naked eye and has cured the problem completely! No expensive gel pads for me!!
I now have permanent pain in my right (trackpad-using) wrist. I asked them if I can sand the edge down without affecting the warranty. Apparently it would affect the warranty. I feel a class-action lawsuit coming on if they don’t do something about this.