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MacBook sharp edges

Dunno if anybody has suggested this (4 pages is too much to read) but the Marware Protection Pack gives a nice cushion where the palm rest is and will help cut down the sharp edges.

I remember thinking the 12" Powerbook has a sharp edge and the Protection Pack definitely helped me out there. I'd suggest you guys to check it out.
 
DaLurker said:
Dunno if anybody has suggested this (4 pages is too much to read) but the Marware Protection Pack gives a nice cushion where the palm rest is and will help cut down the sharp edges.

I remember thinking the 12" Powerbook has a sharp edge and the Protection Pack definitely helped me out there. I'd suggest you guys to check it out.
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if u think 4 pages is a lot to read, u should try a whole book.:D

you wouldnt have to read that far into the thread, someone suggested the Marware early on, but good thinking.
 
Just another voice of complaint regarding the sharp edges on this otherwise most excellent machine. All they had to do was have the lip rolled over/down, just have a small slant downwards. For example, I'm typing on my folk's dinner table, and the sharp edge does hit my wrists every so often - even tho' I try quite hard not to rest my hands on the laptop, but as said earlier, when you are in a non-optimum position [it is a laptop/portable, yes? ;)], then its not quite like you are sitting perfectly prone at a typewriter, ya know... :) Will be heading to the shop in the morning to get some 600-800 grit sandpaper.
 
MSM Hobbes said:
Will be heading to the shop in the morning to get some 600-800 grit sandpaper.
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that's not very smart, don't do it. I would never do this to one of my most prized posessions even if it had slightly sharp edges. do whatever you want but just letting you know its not very smart at all.
 
macman2790 said:
that's not very smart, don't do it. I would never do this to one of my most prized posessions even if it had slightly sharp edges. do whatever you want but just letting you know its not very smart at all.
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Actually, don't know if really will or not do such - hey, its 1/4 till 3am, don't expect my synapses to be firing all that properly at this moment, what with all that sweet potatoe and turkey coursing through my blood at the moment too... :p

But, seriously, it is not good - have used my mom's MBP some while visiting today, and the sharp edge issue is one very strong argument to me to swap this MB for a MBPro, my kids' inheritance be damned... ;)
 
The MB i got a while ago Core Duo had this issue and was one of the reasons i had to returned it and stuck with pro laptops. 13" screen being the second (too small).

I dont buy the bad posture thing. I've been resting my palms on the edges of laptops when using trackpads for ages and i dont have any carpel syndrom. Its a laptop not a bread cutter. Weird thing is, its actually plastic, imagine what it would be like if it was metal.

I guess there would'nt be any sharp edges as there'd be a plastic lining as there are on current aluminium machines.

Its a major design flaw but only mac buffs know this and all others (majority of the people buying this), think its *within spec*
 
DaLurker said:
I remember thinking the 12" Powerbook has a sharp edge and the Protection Pack definitely helped me out there. I'd suggest you guys to check it out.
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I did not know the 12" PB has the sharp edge. Mine does not.
I think Marware's protection pack is good way to keep your Macs clean for the long haul regardless of this issue. I have one for MBP and I also bought one for my 12" PB. If you have the MacBook, the plastic surface is relatively easy to get discolored (which is not to say defective as that is how plastics is).
 
Black Electrical Tape

Works great at softening the edges and the shiny version blends decently with a black MacBook. You folks with white versions may have to go to a Ben Franklin's to find similar tape to match.

And yes, this is a serious ergonomic design flaw from Apple. Right up there with the infamous round mouse.
 
Class action lawsuit? MacBook Recall?

I purchased a MacBook a few weeks ago and absolutely love it, except for the razor sharp edges. I can't believe that apple approved this design.

If you place the laptop on your lap after 15 minutes your wrists will have bright red lines on them from the extreme agitation that the sharp edges produce. I can't imagine using the laptop for extended periods of time.

I've never done this before, but if anyone knows a good lawyer I wouldn't mind participating in a class action lawsuit against apple for their laptop. Under section 402b for product liability I think we have a pretty good case. If anyone knows of macbook users where the laptop actually broke skin and caused the person to bleed that would help our case...and i'm sure it's happened.

Just to be clear, I'm not looking for money, just a re-call to provide a replacement case.

Wake up apple! Go back to quality and focus less on margins. Perhaps a lawsuit will wake Steve Jobs up.

If anyone else is as frustrated as I am and wants a decent product for their hard earned money, email me at roverseries2a@yahoo.com
 
Care to take pictures of your position and the after effect of this? I have had NO problems at all. My arms/hands/whatevers:p NEVER touch the edges when i type, when im resting my hands there...
The only way i could see this happening is if you type with the keyboard above you or you have extremely heavy arms...?
 
response from the apple store manager...

Good point, I'll qualify my previous comment in that when I sit at a proper desk I don't notice the sharp edge all that much. However, when I am sitting in bed and my laptop is on my lap (go figure) the irritation is significant for periods over 15 minutes.

I just got off the phone with the local Apple store. They said that numerous people have returned their macbooks in the first week of buying them because of the sharp edge issue. The store employees have apparently sent a few emails to corporate asking what to do and they haven't heard a response yet. I hope that means that their legal team is working out if they want to do a product recall or something else.

Anyway, the store manager said that I could return my macbook and upgrade to the macbook pro and they would waive the normal return fees and offer the student discount code to help make up for all this hassel. At least they have some smart employees even if their product design team sucks.

butaro said:
Care to take pictures of your position and the after effect of this? I have had NO problems at all. My arms/hands/whatevers:p NEVER touch the edges when i type, when im resting my hands there...
The only way i could see this happening is if you type with the keyboard above you or you have extremely heavy arms...?
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Jaae said:
I guess I'm just from the old school where, if something is bothering you, instead of complaining, I try and find a fix myself.

I found one that worked pretty well for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about a nice looking piece of gadgetry. But all I did to stop the wrist-rest from bothering me, is use those 2 "apple" stickers that came included with the macbook. I cut a thin strip from the paper backing of the stickers (the width of that tiny little ledge)... Estimated where my wrists come in contact with the edge...Then stuck the stickers over the edge with that thin piece of paper in the ledge to prop it up a bit. Doesn't look that bad to me... hell, any sticker would work.... but the aple stickers seem to suit the laptop a bit more.

Just made sure not to cover up the IR.

Ahhh!!! don't flame me if you think it's ugly!! All I know is that my wrists don't hurt anymore.
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I just spent $1,500 hard earned dollars on this macbook, for that type of money I don't want to do stupid monkeying around to fix a design flaw. Unless people complain Apple won't have a clue about their terrible design department.
 
macbookRazorEdg said:
Anyway, the store manager said that I could return my macbook and upgrade to the macbook pro and they would waive the normal return fees and offer the student discount code to help make up for all this hassel.
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IMO, that's your best bet. I sincerely doubt you're going to see Apple offer replacement cases for MacBooks.
 
I'm finding the whole Macbook an ergonomic night-mare. The sharp edges give me no end of grief, to the point that I feel like launchin it throuh a window. When you lift the screen open the sharp edge on the top digs into my hand and hurts. The edges on the base, by the keyboard also consistently dig into my wrists and hands as I type. Furthermore, the amount of effort required to get a character from each key is excessive to the point that after 5 mins or so of typing the tips of my fingers hurt. I often have to reread messages I've typed because many of the characters won't have appeared because the keys weren't pressed hard enough (I haven't put in all the omitted "g"s). The bar below the mouse pad requires a rediculous amount of force to get it to work. I end up having to use my left hand after a while. In all it seems to be a very poorly executed machine. I used a PowerBook before this and found that to be excellent. I also use a PC (yes, I know. It'd be Unix if I hd my say) and have no problems with that (other than it being a PC).

In all I'm very disapointed with it. I do have a Mac wirless keyboard, which I'm using when possible. I think Mac were resting on their laurels with this one. It's not good enough.
 
Hi all...

Found this discussion after doing a google search to see what is up with the sharp edge. Wanted to add my experience if it might be able to help someone else...

Within 20 minutes of using my new toy - my wrist developed severe creases and was really irritated. Please don't flame me for having bad posture and I'm not ripping on Apple. I'm just completely bummed about this "flaw". Apple really thinks things through and I just don't see how they could have missed this.

Well, the reason I registered and am posting is that I did manage to smooth the edge a bit. One of my hobbies requires sanding plastic (expensive collectibles) with a super fine grit Norton sanding sponge. While I haven't been able to sand it down to be a perfect rounded edge - it has taken the severe sharpness of the edge off quite a bit. I don't feel like I'm gonna get cut anymore. ;) And since it is such fine sandpaper - it's not even noticeable. Perhaps some machines are sharper than others. (I'm still hoping to come up with another fix that doesn't take away from the beauty of the machine itself)

Technical bits - I'm using Norton 3X sanding sponges - 150 grit - you can get it at Home Depot.

Missing the smooth contour of my toilet seat first generation ibook. ;) (which is still breathing - barely - but, it's breathing!) Not so - my G4 mirror door which died on me. (hoping it's just the power supply)
 
A solution

The marware guard adds about a 1/6 inch of padding. Its extra cool on a black macbook. just enough to keep that sharp edge comfortable.
 
Sharp Edge Problem Solved!

I am one of the folks who suffered from the sharp edges on my new macbook. I actually cut my wrist while doing no more than a few minutes of typing. I returned the computer (still waiting for Amazon to receive the return and credit me), but I had such "returner's remorse" that I decided to get another one, and try the sanding technique suggested by one of the posters.

First of all, my second macbook was significantly less sharp than the first one. So all of you bitching out other folks for being wimps -- guess what? You just got lucky. But I still wanted to try to dull the edge even more. With great trepidation I bought a 3M ultrafine sanding sponge and used it on the edge. I went very gently at first, and got a little more vigorous toward the end. I blew the sand off frequently, so it wouldn't gum up the seal. The macbook is now absolutely perfect. You cannot see any evidence of sanding; it did nothing to the paint. No one would know, except me, and that's only because I'm no longer in pain!

So thank you very much to the gentleman who suggested that we try sanding.
 
Yep - sanding it worked for me too

I just finished sanding my MacBook edges and it worked perfectly. I got the exact same sanding sponge (150 grit) from Home Depot that was mentioned and it does the trick. I was probably a bit too agressive, and the front lip shows scuffs when you hold it in the light just right - but not anything I or anyone else will ever notice. I bet if you held the exact angle the entire time you were sanding, you could do it pretty cleanly without scuffs.

I also taped a plastic bag over the trackpad and keyboard. Do not sand the edges without doing this. Those little particles did manage to get in between the gray surface and the edge, but without the bag I'd have messed up the keyboard.

I for one agree with the carpel tunnel argument, but even when I accidentally rubbed the edges, it was rather annoying. Well worth the few bucks and ten minutes of effort IMHO.
 
A solution--with no sand paper!!

Hey guys:

If you don't want to use sand paper (that idea scared me), try getting a butter knife and using the blunt edge to push down on the edges. Basically, I ran the back of the knife across the sharp edge and pushed slightly downward so that the plastic turned every so gently down. I did this a couple of times and while it doesnt entirely solve the problem, I don't feel like I'm going to slit my wrists anymore. (I think they're still kind of irritated from before, but hopefully it really is better.) It's gotta be safer than sanding and is probably harder to detect if you ever had problems w/ the warranty. Hope this helps someone!
 
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