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Is the Black or White finish more durable(MBooks)?

I

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macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 21, 2005
39
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Any experience with similair laptops as to which stays looking new longer or which shows scratches/smudges/etc. more than the other?

(putting aside the price difference...I want mine to look different than my wife's which will be the white MB)
 
i will second the advice that the black ipod show wear much quicker.
it would be interesting to see if apple addresses this problem publicly.
on one hand it would make macbooks buyers feel better about the extra $150. on the other hand it would be admitting a flaw to all the black ipod owners.
so likely, they will say nothing and leave it up to the early buyers to post their results.
 
Go for black if you're looking for durability...

I've been working with an iBook for two years now (intensely) and you can see just everything. For example on the left and right sides of the trackpad where you put your hands when typing there are smudges (and I wash my hands frequently ;) ).
Every small scratch that starts to become dirty over time looks ugly and if you aren't into polishing computers, then you'll just live with these stains.
Dust on the surface also looks ugly ...

So if you're about buying a hands-on laptop, buy a black one (or of course the MBP).
And hey, if you want something different than your wife who buys a white MB, then buying black or spraying the white one red are probably your only options ;) .
 
jsw said:
The black MB's have a matte finish and should hide scratches a bit better. Dunno about the white finish; I assume it's glossy but could be matte as well.
Click to expand...

Both will have the same finish. I'm sure Apple have thought about it, mind you the Black Nano still scratches as soon as you look at it....
 
MacRumorUser said:
Both will have the same finish. I'm sure Apple have thought about it, mind you the Black Nano still scratches as soon as you look at it....
Click to expand...

LIAR!!!!! If you TAKE CARE OF YOUR iPOD IT WILL NOT GET SCRATCHED. Its as simple as that. My 3rd gen iPod still looks great after 3 years.

Nanos are made out of the same material as any other iPod.

Also, both the MacBooks DON'T have the same finish. White is glossy, black is matte.

You, sir, have NO IDEA what you're talking about.
 
OMG the black looks awesome! initially i thought the new keyboard design looked very 'pc' but up close its sweet!
and the best bit is i can hook it up to the 20" cinema display.. finally some dvi!
 
wilmor42 said:
OMG the black looks awesome! initially i thought the new keyboard design looked very 'pc' but up close its sweet!
and the best bit is i can hook it up to the 20" cinema display.. finally some dvi!
Click to expand...

Yeah... The black one is looking good, but it reminds me of PC like DELL ;(...
I have ordered the white version. Next item to buy is the 20 ''cinema display ;)...
 
I've got a black video ipod...had it since Christmas and it's fine re scratching. No more than any other product. Yes there are a few small scratches if you hold it against the light but then it has been in my pocket with coins and keys on occasion when I've been in a rush and couldn't find the cover.

I used to carry a Sony discman and that had a gloss finish and was/is just as susceptible to marks.

As for the White ibook..my bro has had one for a couple of years and they do pick up tiny scratches buy you have to expect that from a gloss finish. Plus on white they don't really show up that badly.

I was really looking forward to a gloss black ibook so I'm a bit disappointed that it's matte only. The keys look pretty funky..they're nice n square and seem to float.

BTW I'm running an old G3 clamshell and has anyone got the old yoyo power adapter they are willing to part with. I'm currently only able to get power by clamping the cable to a desk which is a major pain.

In UK.
 
thedbp said:
LIAR!!!!! If you TAKE CARE OF YOUR iPOD IT WILL NOT GET SCRATCHED. Its as simple as that. My 3rd gen iPod still looks great after 3 years.

Nanos are made out of the same material as any other iPod.

Also, both the MacBooks DON'T have the same finish. White is glossy, black is matte.

You, sir, have NO IDEA what you're talking about.
Click to expand...


what about the silver part. I kept it in a case and it still has scaratches on it. I
 
thedbp said:
LIAR!!!!! If you TAKE CARE OF YOUR iPOD IT WILL NOT GET SCRATCHED. Its as simple as that. My 3rd gen iPod still looks great after 3 years.

Nanos are made out of the same material as any other iPod.

Also, both the MacBooks DON'T have the same finish. White is glossy, black is matte.

You, sir, have NO IDEA what you're talking about.
Click to expand...

You, yes you, need to chill quite a bit as this won't get you very far on MR. Try to think before you type as MacRumorUser is very helpful to a lot of people around here, if some day your looking for help you might be hard pressed after comments like this :rolleyes:
other
Quote:
Originally Posted by skunk
Not very diplomatic language.

But on the other hand, it's hilarious.
Click to expand...

Not really, enough said.
 
At first, I was bothered by the post. But then, after looking around, I have to laugh.

Look at his posts. His first (of 16) posts was five years ago. His last post before the one above was two years ago (before I even joined).

He came out of retirement just to post that comment.

I think it's hilarious. Against the rules, yes, and maybe I'll clean it up later. But seriously... am I the only one that thinks this is funny? Not the post, but the back story?
 
iPod nano's and 5G iPods use acrylic for their non-chrome front covering, whereas previous iPods used polycarbonate. Acrylic, though it breaks less easily, it scratches easier than polycarbonate.

The MacBooks use polycarbonate.
 
jsw said:
At first, I was bothered by the post. But then, after looking around, I have to laugh.

Look at his posts. His first (of 16) posts was five years ago. His last post before the one above was two years ago (before I even joined).

He came out of retirement just to post that comment.

I think it's hilarious. Against the rules, yes, and maybe I'll clean it up later. But seriously... am I the only one that thinks this is funny? Not the post, but the back story?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think because MRU has helped me out a lot before I jumped in and also I just got done dealing with the dsl install guy at my home so that had put me in a funk but I did go and read more after. Brushes off the dust to give a stab then back into the turtle shell :p
I really like the black and the features, if I didn't need a large screen or even the thought of using a second display, i'd be getting the black MB, just maybe at the years end ;)
 
Any more thoughts on this? I went to see the Macbooks today and frankly couldn't work out which one I liked best, or indeed which one was likely to scratch and scuff more than the other.
 
I went ahead and bought the black one for myself. :cool: It looks great and feels very durable. Several other posts report that people were unable to recreate the flaking one person said they caused by scratching the black MacBook with their fingernail.

The white shows dirt/fingerprints more but that's no big deal.
 
asherman13 said:
iPod nano's and 5G iPods use acrylic for their non-chrome front covering, whereas previous iPods used polycarbonate. Acrylic, though it breaks less easily, it scratches easier than polycarbonate.
Click to expand...
Actually, it's the other way around. The 1-2G iPods used acrylic; later iPods (3G right up through the nano/5G) use polycarbonate, which is harder to break than acrylic.

The MacBooks (and iBooks before them) are made of polycarbonate. The white MacBook has a different finish than the black--the white is glossier.
 
I'm not sure about the black, but I can say that the white one is pretty durable. I have a rev A ibook G3 (its still the same finish as the macbook right?) and its been through a lot (dropped it a couple of time). Still it looks pretty good and the scratches arent really that noticable except when you look at it closely.
 
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