Apple Botches Hardware Again

July 1, 2006 by 1 Comment

My sister in law just bought a shiny new white MacBook. Last night I sent her the link to stainedbook.info — it seems several folks are having problems with discoloration on the laptop on the wrist rest and such.

That wouldn’t surprise me over time, bit it seems a bit much after only a few weeks of use. On the other hand, what does one expect when they buy something white and then continually rest dirty arms/hands against it, slowly rubbing the grime into the white plastic?

Flaming powerbooks, cracked units, iPod battery lawsuits, and now discolored laptops. Remind me again why it is that Apple has a reputation for quality hardware?

Filed Under: Technology ·
  • ToeKnee

    Bringing all the elements of manufacturing together to produce such complicated products is so complex, I am continually amazed we ever get any products at all. That being said, it appears *some* of the MacBook shells appear to have missed a chemical treatment/sealant which prevents staining. Such things will happen, and it is probably not visibly evident to any Quality Control employees.

    And now that it has found the source of the problem, Apple is replacing the plastic shells on *affected* computers. I know of several white MacBooks owned by friends, and none of them are having this issue. My wife has a two-year old white iBook with absolutely no stains.

    Show me any manufactured line that has no defects, and I’ll show you something you missed.

    And, I have to point out, as of 1:30 pm EDT on July 3, after all the publicity the stainedbook.info site has received, they are up to 83 users– 83 people apparently reporting the problem. That up from 79 users on Friday afternoon, even after C-Net’s story.

    No wait, I just went looking for who these 83 people are and what their MacBook story is, and it turns out I had to register to get into the group– I am member #84! And I don’t have a MacBook – so much for that number having any meaning.