Deterioration of Palm Rest "Paint" or Coating

Many, many people have experienced this issue, although it has become much rarer in the past year or so.

Since your PB is relatively new, you might try calling AppleCare to get a case number and see if they'll replace your top case. A few people have been able to have their top cases replaced, many people have been turned down, but most people haven't bothered to ask.

Good luck!

It's corrosion in the aluminium. As it's so new, Apple really ought to replace the top under warranty. You might want to try popping in to your nearest Apple store and asking them to organise repairing it. Obviously your machine will experience some wear and tear but 2 months is taking the biscuit!

A friend had the same issue and had it repaired on a previous machine without any question at an Apple Store.

Best of luck.

Hey Vis (Uninvis, that makes you Vis, right? 😉 --

It's happened to me, as well. Discoloration of the exact tyoe you described -- little black dots -- on either side of the trackpad, preceisely where I rest my wrists when I type. I actually did wipe that area down after each use, but I use it a lot, for extended periods of time, and it seems to have made no difference. I first noticed the problem about 6 months or so, give or take, after getting my PB, and it progressively got worse, slowly but steadily.

I've not bothered to go the AppleCare route -- it just wasn't worth it to me, all things (time & effort to convince Apple to cover it, having someone open up my PB when not absolutely necessary, loss of PB's use while they did so, degree of actual harm suffered quite small and of no impact on actual functioning, etc) considered. But, clearly, that's a very personal calculus and other people's opinions on the subject likely vary widely.

I effectively solved my issue (and stopped the damage from getting worse) by picking up a wrist rest cover up called the "Wrist Rug." http://www.powersupportusa.com/products/rr.php?category=pb I got the dark gray model, it fits like a glove and I no longer notice the discolored areas, nor do I think the problem is getting any worse, since my wrists no lie on the wrist rug and not on the Aluminum and the Wrist Rug seems to absorb all my perspiration.

It's definitely a flaw in the materials, IMO, I mean something this new should not show this kind of damage, IMO. After all, it's not like I'm some kind of Kimodo Dragon hybrid or nothing, oozing toxic, corrosive sweat, just the normal kind, I swear. And I tidy up after myself and everything. Sheesh!

But, no matter, I've actually convinced myself that it just adds to the uniqueness and character of my PB, which remains far and away the absolute best piece of computing equipment, nay technology, that I've ever had the pleasure of owning. And the damage, such as it is, is all cosmetic so far as I can tell, and I'm not looking to resell anytime soon (if ever), so I can deal.

Good luck, however you choose to proceed.

-- JDee

EDIT: Oops. I just noticed that this post was in the 17-inch PB category and when I double-checked, I noticed that the Wrist Rug doesn't seem to come in the 17-inch variety. (Major oversight on their part if you ask me.) Oh well, you might try Marware's Protection pack, whcih comes in all three PB sizes and includes a screen cover as well as wrist area protector: http://www.marware.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Marware.woa/4/wa/selectedCategory?cata logCatID=181&wosid=n6S248HChVFen084EdOzD0

-- JDee

it was an in-store while you wait repair

Wow! That's excellent. I had a friend who had the same problem as me here -- this was about a year ago or so, and she was told (on the phone and by the Apple Store in Albany, New York) that Apple wouldn't cover "cosmetic" damage. She definitely didn't get the sense that they would replace her top case without a fight, let alone while she waited, and so she let the issue drop.

No, that's a different issue all together. It's definitely from the sweat of some people's hands. Mine is exaclty where the outside of my palms rest on my computer. So far, I've just decied to deal with the problem, as well as a few other grievances.

Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.2)

FYI - it was an in-store while you wait repair

"Wrist Rug" IS available for 17" Powerbooks; items #s RR51, RR52 and RR53.
That's white, light grey and dark grey. Look again.

Look again

I did. You're right. It does.

Thanx.

I have the same problem. I found out that it was the metal clasp on my watch scratching the metal.

Hmm, is it possible that some individuals have more corrosive sweat than others?

My PB is almost a year old, but fortunately the only wear I see is on the trackpad and keys due to use. Even then, it isn't noticeable at all if one looks at it top down. The keyboard prints are still good. The wear can only be seen from an acute from the side, and might I add, very negligible.

I take great care to wipe down the PB at least once a week, or 2, 3 times depending on the humidity of the environment, so I guess I have avoid this pitting problem.

Getting a protective layer would make most sense if you wish to avoid the problem further.