Bowing of the Screen

That's not accurate.

The screen gap is a workmanship issue. It is not there to protect your screen as when you carry your laptop, the lid will (may) be pushed down on the keys irregardless.

This negates the whole "there to protect the screen theory."

Also if you look at the construction of the Macbook, the screen is countersunk and so are the keys so there is no way they would come into contact with eachother.

Yes, use both hands and thumbs, bend it from the top gently and slowly to shape, do it in a few stages until it's meeting the edges.

Yes, mine doesn't seal solid when closed. There is a small gap and the screen has some play (I can move it a few mm.).

I ordered a sleeve with a keyboard cover which will fill in that gap and make for a snug close.

You can do what was suggested above to try and fix it.

Sadly it's another sign of the poor workmanship in Apple products. The design is great, bar none. But the quality of the hardware leaves much to be desired. I guess Apple wins awards for aesthetics and the high price they pay their designers is offset with the cutting of corners in quality parts.

I was very confused and angry about the screen gap when i first got my MBP. I read that people had gently bent the screen so it would close flat. After more reading, I have discovered that the gap is put there on purpose. The reasoning I have heard is that the gap is needed to keep the screen from coming in constant contact with the keys, which can cause damage to the screen. While it may look funny, I wouldn't mess with the screen shape.

MacBook Pro 15.4' Mac OS X (10.4.6)

I have the same issue and am/was annoyed about it for quite a while, however to make it more tolerable, I purchased "Wildeepz" from Radtech so that at least the closure of the screen felt snug so that while there was still a gap, there wasn't a gap in contact (if that makes any freaking sense).

They look like this: http://flickr.com/photos/inknoise/234444131/

(the rubber things on each corner of the screen)

I think you are way off on that percentage. Every MBP I have seen has the screen bow in it. Every single mac at the mac store in my city has a bowed screen, and almost every person I've talked to on these forums has said they have the bowed screen. The bowed screen is the more the rule than the exception. Beyond that, we can argue about whether or not the screen bow was intentional, but I know that I have seen way too many powerbooks that have screens that have been damaged by the keyboard to believe that Apple didn't make the bow on purpose. But I'm not going to say that it's not safe to bend the screen, cause I did that to my MBP with no problems.

MacBook Pro 15.4' Mac OS X (10.4.6)

I have noticed this issue with my MBP as well and was wondering if it was a defect. Has anyone brought their MBP into a Genius Bar to have them deal with it? Has anyone had their MBP replaced because of this issue? I have an appointment with a Mac Genius today, I will update here after my experience.

> the gap is needed

If so, 99/100 are 'incorrect' as they are flat and level ... it's a manufacturing defect and it IS quite safe to bend it gently to the right shape 🙂