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MBAir physical mods....white keys et others :)

AIRniloc

AIRniloc

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 12, 2008
190
0
anozira
just curious to see if anyone else has thought of something cool to do to their MBAirs' physical appearance... i needed a quick way to differentiate my Air from other co-workers' airs (i just quit my job as a mac genius) and decided on the simple white keys..i wouldn't consider this a 'mod', but I definitely prefer it to the black keys...

here are some pics i took of my previous rev a air (which i sold and then upgraded to the rev b)...







another nice idea i have is placing a thin blue scrim between the top case and keys (the idea is to have a blue light shine through the white keys instead of the normal light)...and of course the age old trick of placing a colored scrim between the rear display housing and the LCD (in order to have a different colored 'apple')...

any other ideas?
 
T

tom1971

macrumors 6502a
May 15, 2007
670
0
I lover the white keys - they are from the bluetooth keyboard, right?
Is there a trick to remove the keys from the MBA without breaking it ?
 
AIRniloc

AIRniloc

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 12, 2008
190
0
anozira
tom1971 said:
I lover the white keys - they are from the bluetooth keyboard, right?
Is there a trick to remove the keys from the MBA without breaking it ?
Click to expand...


the keys from an aluminum keyboard won't fit...must be 'stolen' off of a newer macbook topcase (922-8264)...the f6 key IS taken from an aluminum keyboard though :)

no special tricks in removing the keys..just pull from the top left corner on all keys (except for the f6 key..pull from top right)..
 
AIRniloc

AIRniloc

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 12, 2008
190
0
anozira
macjram said:
Nice.

Why'd you quit?
Click to expand...

too stressful of a job...ever since they switched the ipod/iphone queue to 10 minutes at my old store, i was seeing almost 50 customers a day..

that and my genius team had been severely under-staffed for the last 6 months (a team which normally had 12 geniuses has had 5-7 certified geniuses for too long)..

its was a great experience working for apple for the last 15-16 months, but i needed to move on :)
 
AIRniloc

AIRniloc

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 12, 2008
190
0
anozira
Carl Abudephane said:
Very nice.
I have to say the Air looks even another whole degree more elegant with those silver keys. It just looks very, very, 'right' and has nothing whatsoever that jars. It just looks perfect.

However, I have to say that I am equally impressed with all your comic book covers! Do you have any of those framed and on display?!
It's pretty apparent, from just these two examples, that you are a person of singular taste.

Must, .. remain, happy, ..with, black, .. ... keys!!
Click to expand...

i must admit that i was very confused when you mentioned the comics..then i realized that i had photobucket links posted above ;)

yeah, comics are another nerd hobby of mine...i must admit, i feel silly sometimes being a 26-year-old comic reader, but hey...life is short..do what ya dig :D

the white keys aren't too hard to come by...you could most likely go to any 3rd party apple store or ifixit.com and purchase the top case (part 922-8246) in order to get them...

i'll try and post some pics in the dark, so you can see how the backlight looks...
 
AIRniloc

AIRniloc

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 12, 2008
190
0
anozira
1. do i think there will be an SSD upgrade with the form factor and ZIF connector in the future? of course...given time, there will be a suitable upgrade at a reasonable price..there are already a handful of 'speed' upgrades (ie M-Tron Mobi, there is a thread about installing one here on the boards)..

as far as capacity, that's just a matter of time..

2. as far as external batteries go, i'll hold off until they are MUCH less expensive...with proper 'settings' and coolbook running ( i also dig smcFanControl ) i can get a solid 4 hours + of battery run time...just remember that turning off bluetooth / wifi when you're not using them and keeping that screen brightness down will do WONDERS for your batt life..

3. comics rule..as far as SA covers go, i still dig fantastic four #72..my fav kirby cover, hands down (i'm a surfer-monger)...although, i am partial to buscema's surfer covers :) comics are my secondary source of income, thus the massive amount of CGC comic slab scans in my photobuckut albums :p

just my 2 cents...
 
Scottsdale

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
AIRniloc said:
the keys from an aluminum keyboard won't fit...must be 'stolen' off of a newer macbook topcase (922-8264)...the f6 key IS taken from an aluminum keyboard though :)
Click to expand...

Does the f6 key have to be taken from a different source? Just wondering if I pay $150 for a white top case to make my MBA look cool, will I have to pay another $80 for an f6 key? Or will the f6 key work from the whitebook top case?

Great look. I wish the new 17" MBP with anti-glare option (making the bezel white instead of black) would include white keys.

Apple should learn from this and come up with white keys for MBA 3.0. Also, wouldn't it be cool to just sell different colored keys via a parts seller. Could be a profitable gig for somebody. Making different colored keys for $10 per set and selling them for $75 a set would be a nice profit. I think a lot of people would like some premium options to differentiate their Macs - whether it be a MB, MBA, MBP or any Mac.
 
M

Maven1975

macrumors 65816
Aug 24, 2008
1,013
275
This white keys look slick. However, I would hate to lose my backlight key's.

Any way around this?
 
AIRniloc

AIRniloc

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 12, 2008
190
0
anozira
Scottsdale said:
Does the f6 key have to be taken from a different source? Just wondering if I pay $150 for a white top case to make my MBA look cool, will I have to pay another $80 for an f6 key? Or will the f6 key work from the whitebook top case?

Great look. I wish the new 17" MBP with anti-glare option (making the bezel white instead of black) would include white keys.

Apple should learn from this and come up with white keys for MBA 3.0. Also, wouldn't it be cool to just sell different colored keys via a parts seller. Could be a profitable gig for somebody. Making different colored keys for $10 per set and selling them for $75 a set would be a nice profit. I think a lot of people would like some premium options to differentiate their Macs - whether it be a MB, MBA, MBP or any Mac.
Click to expand...

i would scour ebay for the top case...

as far as the f6 key goes...also try ebay or go to an apple store and tell a genius that you lost your f6 key on your aluminum keyboard...9/10 geniuses will supply you with a new one on the spot..
 
Scottsdale

Scottsdale

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Sep 19, 2008
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I noticed white top cases on eBay for $30 to $50. Some are new for $50, others are like new or in perfect condition from around $30. Prices really depend on seller. So, I guess the hope will be for a free f6 key from geniuses like the OP suggests.
 
W

Whimsy

macrumors member
Jan 12, 2006
31
0
Holy crap. That is too awesome! I'm in love. So all you did was just pull the keys off?
 
NT1440

NT1440

macrumors Pentium
May 18, 2008
15,089
22,155
no offense, but IMO the white makes it look just bland. I really like the new black accents of the current MB's.
 
ducatidoc

ducatidoc

macrumors regular
Apr 20, 2008
136
0
i dunno, it's expensive as all hell but i'd go colorware were i seeking the ultimate mod. havent seen one in the flesh, but have been drooling at their pics for months now....
 
AIRniloc

AIRniloc

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 12, 2008
190
0
anozira
Scottsdale said:
I noticed white top cases on eBay for $30 to $50. Some are new for $50, others are like new or in perfect condition from around $30. Prices really depend on seller. So, I guess the hope will be for a free f6 key from geniuses like the OP suggests.
Click to expand...

whats an 'OP'...also, are you in AZ? i worked at the SanTan Apple store as well as the Chandler Apple store...interviewing for macmedia next week :)
 
Scottsdale

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
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U.S.A.
AIRniloc said:
whats an 'OP'...also, are you in AZ? i worked at the SanTan Apple store as well as the Chandler Apple store...interviewing for macmedia next week :)
Click to expand...

The Original Poster of this thread. The one with the idea! YOU!

I normally go to Biltmore. Have been to Chandler and Arrowhead. Never been to San Tan. Good luck with your interview.
 
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