[nickw311]

to the right of my trackpad where my palm rests it is getting very dirty on my week and a half old MacBook. Has anyone else had this problem? I always make sure my hands are clean so this must be coming from sweat or something. Anyone know what will clean this off?

[blackbird_1.0]

Damp, cotton cloth.

I cleaned my palm rests with alcohol, and it stayed clean for a while, until it got dirty again.

[TheIceMan]

Just curious, is your MacBook white or black?

[se12]

Someone said the guy at the Apple store told him Clorox Wipes worked great also. Plus it kills germs :-D

[nickw311]

white

I think I will go grab some alcohol and see if it is better

[gametime10]

This problem was common w/ the iBook. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works the best in my experience.

[n8236]

I have a ton of cotton balls and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. I rube it down every once awhile and it does get dirty.

[nickw311]

the funny thing is one of my friends has a 12" iBook and I have never noticed this happening with his laptop and he is a dirty summabitch who would probably never clean his computer.

[gjbeprise]

I've used iBooks for quite a while (and now a white MacBook) and have *never* had this problem, and I don't clean my computer. Maybe I'm just not filthy...?

[jamil5454]

Haven't really had this problem on my 1.5 year old iBook either...

[SLiMeX]

MR. CLEAN MAGIC ERASER!!!

It does wonders.

[iDaver]

I haven't had the problem with the MacBook or my previous iBook. I don't rest my wrists on the surface of the computer while I'm typing though. I wipe off the wrist rest surface and the keyboard every couple of months, but only as a matter of habit, not because it's really showing dirt.

[nJm]

My 3 year old ibook never got that dirty either. I might give it a wipe over every 6 months or so.

[tillin]

i have a 17" powerbook, and while the palm rests dont really get too dirty, the keyboard somehow is so dirty i cant stand it. all my mac keyboards are the same way, and my hands are always clean before i use them.. any one know of a remedy? will that magic eraser work on keyboards?

[Socially Awkward Solo]

Originally Posted by SLiMeX

MR. CLEAN MAGIC ERASER!!!

It does wonders.

I was going to say the same thing. They are only $2 and clean better than anything I have ever used.

How do those things work so well?

[Orthodoc]

I am having the same problem with my 2 week old MacBook. A horrible yellow discoloration on the palm rest areas and also on the mouse button. I have tried EVERYTHING, including a magic eraser. I wash my hands many times per day because I am a doctor. The only thing I can think of is something that comes off of my latex gloves. It is strange how some people are experiencing this and others don't. I have never had this problem with my iMacs (keyboard) or powerbooks. I wish I had an answer.

[andysc]

Same problem here. My two week old white macbook looks worse than my 2 year old Toshiba

Mr. Magic Eraser is not in the shops in Europe. (What's in it??) But according to Orthodoc this didn't work either on the wrist-restings. Apart from a dry towel, a damp towel and a soapy towel I didn't try anyting because I don't know what's safe to try. Is alcohol safe on the plastic? Or ammonia? Or a tinner? I'm not sure. Can someone try these products on their macbook?

Open for suggestions

[jere_69]

I haven't noticed any dirt......yet. I tend to wipe that area every couple of days though.

[snoopy199]

There are reports over at the apple discussions about the palmrests actually discoloring and turning yellow. So far its seems that the magic eraser and other products are not able to clean that off and its the plastic is discoloring. So far my MB is not suffering from that malady.

I'll call applecare if it does and that's not normal

[Tarcat]

I haven't had the problem but it would happen every now and then with my old iBook. And the white keyboard on my G5 gets dirty. Thats what happens with a white product. I've never had any trouble cleaning either one though. Just a damp cloth and it comes right off.

[Star-Fire]

Not mine, oh mines black already LOL, but all jokes aside, I had a white one for almost 2 weeks and was clean for the entire time so i'd find it strange to be that discolored in less then 2 weeks.

[nickw311]

Yeah the magic eraser does not work for me. One of my friends just bought a White MB so I will see if he has this problem. This is really bothersome to me because I try to keep it very clean and I wash my hands all the time, especially before using the computer.

[blackbird_1.0]

Originally Posted by Tarcat

I haven't had the problem but it would happen every now and then with my old iBook. And the white keyboard on my G5 gets dirty. Thats what happens with a white product. I've never had any trouble cleaning either one though. Just a damp cloth and it comes right off.

Ditto.

[force838]

just tried the magic eraser. doesn't work. i was afraid to scrub too much though.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Bad news:

http://flickr.com/photos/tswartz/tags/macbook/

[blackbird_1.0]

^ O.o

[Big Mac]

latex gloves?

[masugu]

More info at Gizmodo: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/laptops/m...nky-179985.php

Looks like it is a WhiteBook issue???

[iDaver]

Any other photos? So far, I've only seen the one set. If it's a widespread problem, you'd think there would be more photos.

So far, my MacBook remains as white and pure as the driven snow.

[force838]

here's another photo from another user on the apple.com/support forums.

http://img235.imageshack.us/my.php?image=213yk.jpg

[Socially Awkward Solo]

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that ALL of the MacBook in the Applestore were starting to yellow. I thought it was just dirt but it might be permanent.

This makes the black MB flaking reports seem minor in comparison.

[masugu]

Yikes!!!

I guess I will take some ThinkPad-esque smudging on my BlacBook over THAT any day ;-)

[nickw311]

wow this sucks, I think I may take mine back to the Apple store and complain...

[Socially Awkward Solo]

Originally Posted by nickw311

wow this sucks, I think I may take mine back to the Apple store and complain...

Absolutely you should. Imagine how it will look in 6 months.

[monteboyd]

Great news, just in time for my whitebook to arrive tomorrow. I hope this isn't a real problem.

[mathew_m]

These "stains" look like they were done in Photoshop. I don't imagine that the Macbook would get any dirtier than the iBook.

[mathew_m]

Originally Posted by Socially Awkward Solo

Absolutely you should. Imagine how it will look in 6 months.

Ok resident know-it-all.

Why don't we wait to see some photos that don't look Photoshopped.

[masugu]

Photo-shopped stains. I love it! Adobe woudl be proud.

[Socially Awkward Solo]

Originally Posted by mathew_m

Ok resident know-it-all.

Why don't we wait to see some photos that don't look Photoshopped.

Because as I mentioned ALL 6 in the applestore were showing the same thing but not as serious.

Were my eyeballs photoshoped?

[masugu]

Maybe Apple can sell new wrist rest skins on its site - in different colors....they could include White of course and never have to admit they fouled up on the Whitemacs...

[Socially Awkward Solo]

Originally Posted by masugu

Maybe Apple can sell new wrist rest skins on its site - in different colors....they could include White of course and never have to admit they fouled up on the Whitemacs...

http://www.shieldzone.com/

Saved my nano.

[frdmfghtr]

If the units in the Apple Store were display models and getting tried out by everybody walking through, no surprise they are discolored.


My late 2005 iBook has some discoloration too, but I'm not convinced that it's really just discoloration. If I look at the palmrests straight on, it's somewhat noticeable. If I look at a sharper angle, it becomes more obvious. It could be that those areas on the palmrest are wearing smooth and reflecting light differently.

My touchpad is showing the same thing. Looking straight on, the trackpad looks mostly normal. If I look at it on an angle, it looks discolored slightly, and if I look at it just right the discoloration corresponds with the parts of the touchpad worm smooth and shiny. The shininess is more pronounced on the touchpad than the palmrests, but it is there.

[frdmfghtr]

Hit "submit" too soon...

It could also be a matter of a person't chemistry. More acidic perspiration could cause it too, which would explain why it happens to some people and not others. I've seen it it watch repair--some people will destroy a watch simply by wearing it because their sweat was more acidic than the next person.

[maggknot]

Another reason why I should hold out on getting a Macbook.

[masugu]

Originally Posted by mikez

Another reason why I should hold out on getting a Macbook.

Get the BlacBook Mikez

[Tijer]

My old iBookG4 had exactly the same markings - though they developed 2 months later, not weeks later.

However, a simple (pencil) rubber did it

[icruise]

I remember that a number of people had problems with the aluminum wrist rests of the Aluminum powerbooks. They would show black pits where the surface of the metal had apparently worn off. There were two theories as to why this was (since this obviously didn't happen to all PowerBooks, or even a significant percentage). One said that it was a manufacturing defect of some kind. The other said that the user's body chemistry somehow reacted with the metal to cause this effect. I wonder if this isn't the same type of thing.

[snoopy199]

You know, I never buy a revision A machine, because I'm afraid that an issue or two may slip through their testing program. But noooo, I go to the apple store and like the MB - more importantly the wife said go for it. I cannot let those opportunities pass my by

Anyways I'm pleased with the look and performance of the MB, I'm getting more and more concerned that this may be a dog of a computer.
First the Moos (mine doesn't do, well it did it once but that's it)
The whine.
The heat
And now this.

So far my MB is white and I'm being extra careful, but I opted for the Macbook because ofits rugged exterior, I chose white because I wasn't sure if the black matte finish would wear well (and I didn't want to spend the extra 200).

Hopefully we'll hear a response from apple, but they generally don't seem to address this problems too quickly, look how long it took them to accept the issue of the white marks (lines or something I forget) on the 15" PowerBooks.

[wilsonng]

Well, I had the same problem on my 12" PB. The wrist rest were getting orange.

I took some of wife's contact paper that she normally uses on her kitchen counter top and cut out a small section to fit the wrist rest. The contact paper is easily replaceable and comes in a wide variety of colors and patterns.

I put a brown wood grain pattern on my wife's iBook and a black marble pattern on my 12" PB. It certainly makes people do a double-take when I open up my PB 12" and they see the unusual pattern on my wrist rest.

So the patterns of your contact paper would disguise all the awfully dirty wrist rests!

It's certainly cheaper than going to www.colorwarepc.com

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally Posted by frdmfghtr

If the units in the Apple Store were display models and getting tried out by everybody walking through, no surprise they are discolored.

Yes it is considering the old models never did that.

So can we consider a store display after 3 weeks about equal to one person using it for 6 months?