v.1 of anything

Seems to me in that there is something in the case material, what is it Lexan, that is reacting to skin, perspiration, sweat, heat, or a combination thereof. I have not yet handled a new MacBook, is the case material different from the previous model?

Grime wipes off, I use KlearScreen, this is something different.

TMO reported the same story yesterday:
http://www.macobserver.com/article/2006/06/27.8.shtml
even so, this "story" is about a month old now, isn't it?

I can understand the reality of such a view but it's a sad indictment on Apple's quality. As an owner of a new MacBook, I had held off purchasing a new iBook for over 5 months in anticipation of the new Intel-based laptops. I can put up with quickly outdated specs and lower performance; such is to be expected of this product's target market. But to say it includes poorly constructed merchandise with ill-conceived materials is the type of expectations one has for Gateway or Dell products.

Now, the stains are already there on my 4-week old MacBook and to be honest, I can more than put up with them and the "mooing" fans, etc. The overall experience is much greater and satisfactory. But I will in future, however, reluctantly accept your policy when choosing a new Mac, but for the reality of its assertion.

What are you talking about? We all know what's going on here. These people are not washing their hands when they leave the bathroom. Apple made a MacBook for the unwashed masses. It's called the black one. Notice how this story came from Australia. Not only do they have to use counterclockwise Core Duo chips there, but the whole continent was once a penal colony where the British sent their criminals and soccer hooligans. These were people who couldn't even spell their last names. A name that was correctly and historically spelled with an "ings" ending in England sprouted all sorts of endings like "ins", "ens", and "inson" in Australia. So, knowing their history, I am sure these people are keeping a little extra flavor on their hands and tranfering it the MacBook. Be glad they aren't handling your food.

Wow - you're right. I hadn't thought of that. And we have prime example here, where even the terminal 's' was dropped off: 'coaten'!

"Who knew?" as I think you Mercans say from time to time.

There are at least two products that will prevent this, which obviously comes from people's hands. Marware makes one and ShieldZone another.

I had a stick-on protector on the trackpad of my white iBook for this very reason.

And, I have seen Crocodile Dundee several times. And, my whole lineage could spell its last name!!

(Just wanted to clarify for all of you taking offense.)

The only computer I've purchased as Rev A (v.1 as fo says) was the Powerbook G4 Titanium. That was because I'd sold my PB2400c and was getting deployed to the North Pole. It had the loose battery/electrocution problem, the grinding DVD drive problem, the cracked hinge covers problem, and the feet falling off problem. Why did I put up with that, you ask? Well, I'd spent almost $3000 on the system and optionals, I was later getting deployed to the South Pole, and the machine still worked (after one trip back to Apple). So I guess I was lucky. But I'd learned my lesson.

This time around the original Titanium powerbook was due for replacement (starting Grad school) exactly when the MacBook Pro was released. I ran right out and purchased the Rev D+ Powerbook G4. Spent less than $2000 and kept all my optionals, then sold the TiBook to my brother. Awesome machine, except it has the White Spots on Screen issue and the firewire port is loose. Lesson learned - don't buy anything from Apple.

Oh wait, what am I saying?!?

I'm a married civil engineer, a helicopter pilot, a performing musician, and a web geek. I know how things work and have taken some lumps along the way. NOTHING in life is gonna EVER be perfect. Doesn't stop me from *working* towards perfection. Apple gets as close as (or closer than) any other computer company, and they *try* to be perfect. If they fail once in a while, remember they have a strong track record for correcting things, better than most companies. Better believe there's a team fixing the MacBooks right now for the holiday Rev B.

As far as the comments about "old news story" that accompany every article lately, I'm starting to get sick if it. I read a dozen Apple rumor site feeds every day, and I'd not heard about this issue until last week. Old news to one person in new news to me. My thanks to The Mac Observer for taking the time to extract the rumors & rumblings into an article (with pictures & links!) and saving me the trouble of piecing it together myself. No one else did that "like a month ago".