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Black MacBook Paint Concerns

steve_hill4

steve_hill4

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 15, 2005
1,856
0
NG9, England
Got the article from link at bit-tech. First I've heard of it. Even if it isn't the most informative article, it gives you what information is currently available and that at the moment is limited.

If enough people have problems though and even Apple employees air concerns, (as the article suggests), then it would be yet another PR problem for them, especially if they are paying $200 extra for 20GB and a bad paint job.
 
zach

zach

macrumors 65816
Feb 14, 2003
1,204
0
Medford
if you scroll down on that page, the original poster has made a clarification... this is ONE incident, noticed on ONE display model, in ONE apple store.

this could very well be a prerelease model that was painted black because they didn't have the actual black ones in stock, the OP said his store received a shipment of new black MacBooks and he sees absolutely no flaws whatsoever with the ?coating? ?plastic? whatever it is.

edit: link to clarification article: http://marklem.com/mlem/?p=12
 
W

wyrmintheapple

macrumors regular
May 8, 2006
114
0
Southampton, UK
It really makes me SOOOO aNGRy when I see "articles" like this on "news" sites that are nothing more than reposts of something that they heard from a friend who saw it posted on a blog about what happened when a bloke was peering over the shoulder of a customer in an Apple store.

They don't "retract" their ******** news later, so tomorrow I got all my friends saying "I hear the paint on those crappy macs falls off..." Then I gotta load the sites, find the source, show em all the clarification......
 
steve_hill4

steve_hill4

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 15, 2005
1,856
0
NG9, England
Good call Zach. I'm keeping my eye on this subject though and am in eager anticipation of getting the new models into store to play with.

Can anyone close this topic for me? I feel I am angering too many here. :(
 
count chocula

count chocula

macrumors 6502a
Apr 7, 2006
937
0
noun. a particular place or position
the two black macbooks i was playing around with at the tysons corner (northern va) apple store seemed to be holding up very well. seeming them, and getting to play with them has shattered all doubt i had about buying one and i plan on making the purchase fairly soon.
 
pdpfilms

pdpfilms

macrumors 68020
Jun 29, 2004
2,382
1
Vermontana
You know what my main concern is? That it looks less like an apple and more like a cheap dell... that plasticy black is scary looking for me, i'd much rather have white or aluminum.
 
jwdawso

jwdawso

macrumors regular
Jan 13, 2002
127
10
No way....

I saw the MacBooks at the new NY 5th ave store yesterday, and no way will they flake. Whatever Apple used to make them black is not a "flaking" substance. I did find one that was scratched - no different then seeing any other color scratched.

As far as "do they look too much like a PC" - NO! The color and shape are distinctively Apple.

As far as which one to choose - I'd go for the white if I were buying now, because $150 is too much of a premium. Now if they were equal in price, it would be a very difficult decision.
 
generik

generik

macrumors 601
Aug 5, 2005
4,116
1
Minitrue
dferrara said:
There's this thing called PRODUCT TESTING. That report is ********.
Click to expand...

Product testing? Yeah? What about it?

Producing laptops that goes to 80 degrees on the surface? Deliberately smearing thermal paste just so to prevent the fans from spinning up creating a "silent" laptop? Keys that drop out when you so much as look at it the wrong way?

What were you saying about product testing again?

Don't get me wrong, it is pretty obvious that Apple is not doing as much of this as you are lead to believe.
 
D

Demon Hunter

macrumors 68020
Mar 30, 2004
2,284
39
generik said:
Product testing? Yeah? What about it?

Producing laptops that goes to 80 degrees on the surface? Deliberately smearing thermal paste just so to prevent the fans from spinning up creating a "silent" laptop? Keys that drop out when you so much as look at it the wrong way?

What were you saying about product testing again?

Don't get me wrong, it is pretty obvious that Apple is not doing as much of this as you are lead to believe.
Click to expand...

Those are valid points, but I'm talking about the flaking. I think their testing is better than a fingernail swipe.
 
netdog

netdog

macrumors 603
Feb 6, 2006
5,760
38
London
pdpfilms said:
You know what my main concern is? That it looks less like an apple and more like a cheap dell... that plasticy black is scary looking for me, i'd much rather have white or aluminum.
Click to expand...

Or even like one of those cheap old Apple PowerBooks that we hated so much. :eek:

I hated the black MacBook so much that I bought one so that others wouldn't have to suffer with it.
 
S

Spartacus

macrumors member
Nov 28, 2004
81
0
Yellowish keys

Is it just me or does the keyboard on the white MBs look kind of yellow or off-white compared to the color of the rest of the computer? I found this to be F-ugly making the black ones a little more attractive for the money. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? I'd take a flaking Apple looking black one over the gross off-white keyboard of the white ones.

And what's the deal with this 'gamer's Macbook' that various MacRumor posters have claimed as 'rumored'? Is there any validity to this?
 
netdog

netdog

macrumors 603
Feb 6, 2006
5,760
38
London
Remember that Magsafe on somebody's MPB that caught fire? Same thing, a one-off.

I knew a guy who was hit by lightning once. Does this mean that it is unsafe to have a nice walk in the rain?
 
M

MacBookDJ

macrumors newbie
May 6, 2006
29
0
San Francisco
netdog said:
Or even like one of those cheap old Apple PowerBooks that we hated so much. :eek:
Click to expand...

I'm not sure who, besides you, hated the old black PowerBooks. They're generally regarded as some of the best notebooks Apple ever made. My Pismo is 6 years old and still going strong.

And BTW, the black MacBooks are not painted.
 
Abstract

Abstract

macrumors Penryn
Dec 27, 2002
24,889
921
Location Location Location
generik said:
Producing laptops that goes to 80 degrees on the surface? Deliberately smearing thermal paste just so to prevent the fans from spinning up creating a "silent" laptop? Keys that drop out when you so much as look at it the wrong way?

What were you saying about product testing again?
Click to expand...

You think they smeared large amounts of thermal past to prevent the fans from spinning up? I hope you realize they could have done that via the code they wrote to control the temperature at which the fans turn on. They could have adjusted the threshold temperature to whatever they wanted, even 100 C. They didn't do this in order to prevent the fans from coming on all the time.
 
Deepdale

Deepdale

macrumors 68000
May 4, 2005
1,965
0
New York
generik said:
Product testing? What about it?
Click to expand...

Apple has clearly been lax in some areas. I have spent time with both MB models (with more on the way in the week ahead), but I do not sense this will be a repetitive problem with widespread dealbreaker potential for the customers considering one in black.

I could live with either model, but may go with the black, 80 GB and 1 GB of RAM. Price difference is excessive, but I have plenty of work ahead revamping all iTunes playlists and burning new customized CDs. It is time to take out the credit card and move on.
 
S

servognome

macrumors newbie
Feb 26, 2005
28
0
I get a similar "issue" when I scratch the top of my Thinkpad. It takes a lot of scratching to get the effect, and it really doesn't come off in flakes, its just the finish looks different, and only is apparent in bright lighting conditions.
 
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