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Getting the war zone look

Swiss Apple

Swiss Apple

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 25, 2009
74
0
Switzerland
There are a lot of folk out there who go to great lengths to protect the beautiful finish on their aluminium Macbooks, which is why I feel like a bit of a slob in taking the opposite view. You see I tend to keep my stuff forever so resale is not an issue, in addition I think a few scratches and perhaps a dent or two adds real character to your notebook and aluminium weathers a lot better than plastic. Therefore I plan to carry and use my new MBP 13" completely naked and I will celebrate, rather than commiserate every scratch.

Anyone want to join me? :p
 
Good for you, but I think the vast majority of people prefer their laptops looking pristine. Not just for resale value.
 
if you call scratching a £1,500 machine "adding character" then maybe you yourself have had a few bumps dents and scratches on your brain :S
 
ri0ku said:
if you call scratching a £1,500 machine "adding character" then maybe you yourself have had a few bumps dents and scratches on your brain :S
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I'm not talking about using it as a frisbee, just being a little more relaxed about tossing it into a bag with a spiral bound pad for example. And in terms of the cost, people spend more on Louis Vuitton luggage and that gets manhandled just the same as a $20 case from Walmart.

In any case , diffrent strokes for different folks and all that. I was just wondering whether I was alone and it seems that I am.
 
Swiss Apple said:
I'm not talking about using it as a frisbee, just being a little more relaxed about tossing it into a bag with a spiral bound pad for example. And in terms of the cost, people spend more on Louis Vuitton luggage and that gets manhandled just the same as a $20 case from Walmart.

In any case , diffrent strokes for different folks and all that. I was just wondering whether I was alone and it seems that I am.
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Would you rather have the expensive bag or the cheap walmart bag? Plus those rich people dont check baggage:p
 
I know what you mean OP. I like for my laptop to look as good as possible but I don't obsess over it like a lot of people on these forums do. I'm also not going to go out of my way to put scratches and dents on it either though.

I had a 13" alum Macbook prior to my 13" MBP (silly upgrade I already know :p) and I had no trouble selling it for more than what I paid with a couple of scratches on it. I like to take care of my stuff without obsessing. Simple really.
 
ri0ku said:
if you call scratching a £1,500 machine "adding character" then maybe you yourself have had a few bumps dents and scratches on your brain :S
Click to expand...

The OP doesn't seem to be saying he will deliberately scratch it, just not fuss when it gets one in day to day use. Notebooks are actually *designed* to be frequently carried, put in bags and well, used.

Its always been strange to me how people will obsess over protecting their expensive car or £1,500 laptop, but yet be 75lbs overweight and thus incur suffering and medical bills which greatly exceed the cost of their toys.
 
Swiss Apple said:
people spend more on Louis Vuitton luggage and that gets manhandled just the same as a $20 case from Walmart.
Click to expand...
Not me, its not like I have a ton of money to blow on name brand luggage. Besides we're taking about an expensive piece of electronics that looks great. Tossing it in a bag with books will mark it up and it also may dent/damage it if there are other books in there and you're not terribly careful about it.
 
I've been looking for a sleeve for a while, but I'm not so sure if it's necessary. I'm not a big fan of the war zone look, but at least I'm not one of those freaking out about a couple of scratches. Laptop bags carry all your equipment like mice and cables nicely, and give protection, but they tend to be a bit bulky...so I thought I'd carry my 'book in a normal bagpack, just trying to figure out should I get a sleeve or not... A few scratches never makes the machine unusable, right?
 
maflynn said:
Not me, its not like I have a ton of money to blow on name brand luggage. Besides we're taking about an expensive piece of electronics that looks great. Tossing it in a bag with books will mark it up and it also may dent/damage it if there are other books in there and you're not terribly careful about it.
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The point is that Apple chose to make the MBP out of aluminium not glass, and that was a masterstroke because they've created a durable, yet light machine that looks great. Why then are people snapping on ugly bits of plastic and making their machines (a) look cheap and (b) weigh more??? that to me is more insane than simply letting the metal shell do its job, absorbing scratches and protecting whats inside.

My intro was perhaps a little flippant, I would never intentionally harm the little fella ;)
 
for me,

i like to take care of things. just as if you had 1,400$ in your pocket - i'm sure you'd keep it on your wallet and make sure it doesn't leave your sight.

i wouldn't ever through 1,400$ into a bag on the go. i would put it in it's case (which takes literally 2 seconds) and then put it in the bag.

i like to take care of my computer because it's functionality directly depends on how well it is taken care of.

if you toss it around, the hard drive will have a shorter life, the screen (which is made of glass) is at risk and i can't think of anyone who just doesn't care for their things


just because some people have expensive bags, doesn't mean you should not be grateful you can afford something this nice.
 
Swiss Apple said:
Therefore I plan to carry and use my new MBP 13" completely naked and I will celebrate, rather than commiserate every scratch.
Click to expand...
Why is this important to you? Better yet, why would this public proclamation be important to anyone else?

Some of the "mac minds" hear never cease to amaze me.
 
I don't use any kind of protection for my MBP except a backpack to carry it around. My MBP only has one tiny dent after a year and a half of use. I use it every day and take it with me to my college classes, so you can't claim that it sits in a glass case ;)

Protecting your MBP without a case is easy. Just don't abuse it.
 
Richard1028 said:
Why is this important to you? Better yet, why would this public proclamation be important to anyone else?

Some of the "mac minds" hear never cease to amaze me.
Click to expand...
Is "Mac Mind" some kind of newbie diss? :confused: Admittedly I've only had my MBP for a few days now (my first Apple computer).
 
I put my Macbook Air and Macbook Pro both in sleeves. I have keyboard covers, palm guards, and trackpad covers on both of them too. Why? Well I paid a lot for the Macbook Pro ($1800) so I want to protect it. I enjoy selling my stuff when it no longer becomes useful to me, and I want the next owner to have as good of a condition machine as possible. Plus I like to keep my stuff looking nice for my own purposes.

It takes me quite some time to save up money for nice things being a college student, so when I do you're damn right I am going to protect it the best I can.
 
When you buy a brand new car do you not care if someone runs a key along side it? Or puts a dent in your door with theirs?

When you buy a new snowboard and some skiier marks up the paint on top with their damn ski pole on your first day riding it, you don't get even a little frustrated?


Maybe protecting a laptop/iPhone the same way I protect my other investments (i.e. parking far away and NEVER getting on a ski lift with a skiier) is a little over the top. But why let an expensive piece of property, that you worked very hard to earn, get damaged so easily when you are able to prevent it for such a small price?
 
I think I would agree with Swiss Apple. Although the only time I got upset was when my girlfriend's Golden Retriever was drolling on the keyboard :D

They are meant to be used. I'm not going to sell mine (I might pass it down when I gtet a new one). I don't get upset over a scratch or sneeze mark on the screen ( do clean that off though).

Tom
 
barkomatic said:
The OP doesn't seem to be saying he will deliberately scratch it, just not fuss when it gets one in day to day use. Notebooks are actually *designed* to be frequently carried, put in bags and well, used.

Its always been strange to me how people will obsess over protecting their expensive car or £1,500 laptop, but yet be 75lbs overweight and thus incur suffering and medical bills which greatly exceed the cost of their toys.
Click to expand...

I dont think everyone who owns a expensive car or laptop is overweight, But for that statement you could say the same for people who smoke/drink/do drugs.

I just think if you spend £1,500 on a machine why not stop it from getting scratched and dented? it was expensive whats the point in not looking after it. If your screen was scratched due to carelessness I bet you'd be fuming. (I know the screen is more important to look after ect ect but its the same princable.
 
Swiss Apple said:
There are a lot of folk out there who go to great lengths to protect the beautiful finish on their aluminium Macbooks, which is why I feel like a bit of a slob in taking the opposite view. You see I tend to keep my stuff forever so resale is not an issue, in addition I think a few scratches and perhaps a dent or two adds real character to your notebook and aluminium weathers a lot better than plastic. Therefore I plan to carry and use my new MBP 13" completely naked and I will celebrate, rather than commiserate every scratch.

Anyone want to join me? :p
Click to expand...

No thanks. I prefer my laptop to look as good as possible. Which is why the pitting problem with the aluminum ticks me off so much.
 
There are a lot of people who view their computer as a tool that they use to get some work done and a lot of people whose egos and sense of self-worth are all wrapped up in that computer and want it to be the latest/greatest and absolutely pristine in appearance. To that latter group (and they post on MR all the time), a dent or scratch can be personally devastating.

To each his own.
 
uberamd said:
I put my Macbook Air and Macbook Pro both in sleeves. I have keyboard covers, palm guards, and trackpad covers on both of them too. Why? Well I paid a lot for the Macbook Pro.....
Click to expand...

Lemme finish this for ya. "Why? Well I paid a lot for the Macbook Pro, so someone else can enjoy it.

To each his own but honestly, you might as well put your Macs into a glass case covered in an eskimo jacket so nothing happens to them. I'm not with the OP about being careless, but I'm not going to go as far as protecting my computers from...ME... as if I'm going to ruin the looks of them but just using them.
They are tools that serve a function just like your car, TV or stereo. Protecting a machine like it's a newborn human is just overkill.
 
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