razor edge on new MBP

Why not just put something over the edge while typing. I know it is not a great solution, but it has to be better than voiding your warranty.

I was just reading through the posts and saw this and was wondering what it was about. I, personally don't have this issue, but I can imagine it could be irritating/minorly painful. Just an idea on the spot here, buy a rubber o-ring, cut it open and along its length, then with a weak adhesive, stick it around the edges. If you get one thin enough, I imagine it won't prevent the workings of the magnetic closure. Hope it helps/works 🙂

Are you still making noise?

You can do whatever you want. I had just offered advice on why it should not be done.

Go file down your MacBook Pro. Then, when you need service for a failed hard drive, or anything else, watch how fast you will be denied by Apple.

Carl Wolf had answered your question perfectly here, Trip6.

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8539801#8539801

Mc_Monkiez has provided the best advice for this ridiculous thread.

Thank you, Mc_Monkiez!

trip6 wrote:
Your external keyboard idea is a poor workaround. If I wanted an external keyboard I could have bought a tower for a lot less money.

If I don't hear any better ideas I'm taking a file to mine, so there.

before destroying a perfectly good Mac, take a breath in, and think it through


unless, of course, you are rich and have nothing better to do with your time and money.

Message was edited by: JulieK23

You (and others) have belittled those of us who have a legitimate complaint. I'm only looking for suggestions.

You have taken this far too seriously.

We have not belittled anyone. We have just belittled the ridiculous idea of filing down a MacBook Pro.

You are much more than a ridiculous idea, my friend.

Good luck to you!

I completely agree that the front edge of the Macbook is too sharp. The 15" Macbook Pro I bought in 2007 had this problem and so does the 13" Macbook I bought this week. I think this new one is even sharper than the 2007 model!

I wouldn't call it razor sharp; it doesn't cut my skin, but it's definitely uncomfortable for the heel of my hand, when using trackpad, and uncomfortable for my wrist, when typing. It's bad design on Apple's part for ignoring ergonomics like this. It's unfortunate that they ranked aesthetics ahead of ergonomics!

Sometimes I put a piece of cloth along the front edge as a temporary solution. It would be nice to find a small, portable pad that could be put over that front edge. If I can't buy something that works, I'm tempted to try to design one myself. Maybe use thick leather, and magnets to attach? Dunno if that would work. It's annoying to have to go to this trouble: making or finding one and then carrying it around with my Macbook. Gluing it on permanently probably wouldn't work, since that would prevent the Macbook from closing fully. I don't think that filing down the edge is practical, since I'd want a .1" radius to the rounded edge, at minimum, for decent comfort.

I haven't experienced any discomfort since moving from my WhiteBook to the new MBP. I'm not sure why people are being so snotty in response to this.

First of, definitely don't take a file to it, as one poster mentioned he did. I don't know if that will void the warranty (it might) but it will ruin the protective coating and cause the aluminum to oxidize (like how a car with a metal exposing scratch will rust). And don't "get a Dell." Because Dell/Vista is crap. That's why you got a Mac.

You might want to examine your typing style. If you are holding your wrists straight—as you should to prevent carpel tunnel— then you shouldn't really be touching the edge of the computer at all.

If you can't adjust your typing position, then there are always the bean-bag style wrist-rests that you can buy at office supply stores for ~$15. I have one that I use at my PC in my office, and just playing with it, I can rest it against the lower edge of the MBP, and still have full access to the KB and trackpad.

The last option is to buy some sort of rubber guard at home depot and apply it to the corner. You have to be careful here, though, because if the glue is permanent you can damage the aluminum, hurt the resale value, and possibly void the warranty.

FYI, my problem with the sharp edge isn't typing style -- it doesn't bother me while I'm typing, just when I'm using the trackpad and resting my wrist on the laptop for stability.

Agreed, the edges are too sharp. My palms get irritated at times, unlike with the old MBP. Apple has put esthetic ahead of comfort here.

George Frazee wrote:
I haven't experienced any discomfort since moving from my WhiteBook to the new MBP. I'm not sure why people are being so snotty in response to this.

First of, definitely don't take a file to it, as one poster mentioned he did. I don't know if that will void the warranty (it might) but it will ruin the protective coating and cause the aluminum to oxidize (like how a car with a metal exposing scratch will rust). And don't "get a Dell." Because Dell/Vista is crap. That's why you got a Mac.

You might want to examine your typing style. If you are holding your wrists straight—as you should to prevent carpel tunnel— then you shouldn't really be touching the edge of the computer at all.

If you can't adjust your typing position, then there are always the bean-bag style wrist-rests that you can buy at office supply stores for ~$15. I have one that I use at my PC in my office, and just playing with it, I can rest it against the lower edge of the MBP, and still have full access to the KB and trackpad.

The last option is to buy some sort of rubber guard at home depot and apply it to the corner. You have to be careful here, though, because if the glue is permanent you can damage the aluminum, hurt the resale value, and possibly void the warranty.

George:

please explain to us your post here:

+George Frazee wrote:+

+"I haven't noticed this issue. I would imagine that it all depends on the way the user types.+

+IMHO, the "sharp edges" look awesome. It just makes it look like such a fine piece of hardware. Not hobbled together out of plastic."+


http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8392593&#8392593


if you do not like it, return it! - just please stop trolling, okay George?

Message was edited by: Kieran N

I don't like the edges at all - I agree they're too sharp. And I don't care what anyone says, I rest my palms on my laptop when I type and the sharp edge is uncomfortable.

Just one of the many reasons (reflective screen, heavy lid/weak hinges) I won't be buying the new MBP to replace my old one after giving the new machines a workout recently.

In fact, I'll go as far as saying the new machines are very poorly erganomically designed - especially for those who use them for work. Once again, Apple has put form over function. If your laptop doesn't do what it's supposed to - that is to function reliably and comfortably - return it and find one that does. Buying another keyboard is a ridiculous suggestion - you're not going to carry another keyboard around with your laptop every time you need to go portable, are you? That was the reason behind buying a portable machine in the first place.

It never ceases to amaze me the number of lemmings who blindly defend Apple any time someone raises a legitimate complaint about their hardware. The fact is, I've been buying and using Macs exclusively now for more than 15 years - I've owned a lot of machines in that time, and worked on countless others - and I firmly believe Apple has alienated a lot of its core owners/users in its drive to make its products cheaper, nastier and more appealing to the masses. Apple used to stand for quality design and build - these days a lot of its hardware is just cheap. Every single Mac I've bought in the past 6 years has had to be sent back to the shop with one problem or another. Up until then, I hadn't used an Apple warranty for almost a decade!

But if you like your MBP and are happy to file the edges (don't listen to anyone else, you can do whatever you want to your own machine) then I'd suggest getting a small tin of clear lacquer and running it around the edges.

<Edited by Moderator>

Kieran,

Normally I might be tempted to pepper my response with biting riposte, but after reading your post to me I can only conclude that you are in some way mentally handicapped, or at least have problems with reading comprehension.

Kieran N wrote:
George:

please explain to us your post here:

First of all, I'm under no obligation to explain to you or anyone my posts from a +different thread.+ My posts in this thread are relevant to the person I was responding to, and my posts in a different thread are relevant to whomever I was responding to in that thread.

+George Frazee wrote:+

+"I haven't noticed this issue. I would imagine that it all depends on the way the user types.+

+IMHO, the "sharp edges" look awesome. It just makes it look like such a fine piece of hardware. Not hobbled together out of plastic."+
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8392593&#8392593

Given my post in this thread, which I must assume you read since you quoted it, what was your motivation for searching out other threads in which I might have posted on the subject? I explained simply that I don't find the edges of the computer uncomfortable, but that if someone did, there were "homebrew" ways to approach the issue, as was requested by the original poster.

As to this other post of mine to which you linked, what on earth is the problem? In both cases I stated that I found no problem or discomfort with the design of the computer, and in both cases I mentioned that it might be fixed by adjusting the way the user types. In fact, in the linked post, I praised the design, as I believe the MBP is a cut above any other laptop on the market.

if you do not like it, return it! - just please stop trolling, okay George?

Again, how on earth you've come to the conclusion that I don't like the computer escapes me. Perhaps you'd like to clarify that. However, unless your next post to me in this or any other thread begins with an apology for a false accusation of "trolling," then I won't bother to read it.

To you tend to use the trackpad with your thumb or your forefinger? The thumb would keep the hand/wrist in the same position as when you type, just about, and since you said that you don't have issues while typing, I'll assume you use the finger.

When I use the trackpad with my finger, I use my pinky against the area to the right or left of the pad for stability. It keeps my wrists off of any surface, at any rate.

I don't think it's an issue of cheap hardware. It's an issue of mass manufacture in that most products of any type that come off of a production line in China will have issues. That's the state of the new world economy. I'll take my WhiteBook which was a rock for 2 years (minus a HDD crash, I'm looking at YOU seagate) or my new MBP over my mother's HP laptop any day of the week—that thing is literally falling apart at the seams.

As for putting form over function, that's all a matter of preference.

And no one is suggesting that people can't file down their laptops, they can do what they wish with their property. The question is whether or not Apple will/should support hardware that people take files to. There's really no reason while they should, in the same way that if I deleted OSX and installed Solaris, they wouldn't be obligated to support me on the software side.