Do the keys still damage the screen?

Question

Level 2

296 points

Do the keys still damage the screen?

On my old powerbook G4 the keys dinged up the screen. I've always kept a cloth closed in the book to keep this from happening.

Do I still need to do this now that I have a new Macbook Pro?

Thanks

G5 Dual 2.5 Gz, Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on Jun 3, 2007 4:01 PM

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Answer 1

Emudude

Level 1

0 points

Jun 3, 2007 4:49 PM in response to Samuel Muindi

I've had my macbook pro for about a month now, and have had no "dinging" problems when transporting it in my backpack to school at all - one would think that the keys would be designed to be an appropriate distance away from the screen. Perhaps you had some loose keys?

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Answer 2

Jun 3, 2007 5:12 PM in response to Samuel Muindi

Yes, it’s still a good idea to use a super thin micro-fiber cloth or just use the factory foam sheet for now. I don’t much care to have the keyboard imprint on my screen.
Regards,

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Answer 3

Jun 3, 2007 5:37 PM in response to Digital Dude

I have monitored 8 new macbook pros at work and none of them have shown signs of this. Even the ones under heavy use and that have traveled across the country numerous times.

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Answer 4

Samuel Muindi Author

Level 2

296 points

Jun 4, 2007 10:29 AM in response to Samuel Muindi

Thanks to all, this is good to know.

For the record, the keyboard ding was a common problem on the G4s. Just check out all the screen pads that are on the market to deal with just this problems.

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Answer 5

Jun 4, 2007 3:25 PM in response to Samuel Muindi

they seem to still ding the screen on my 17C2D, using a marware microfiber cloth but have even seen marks from that (they wipe off though). I would actually tolerate a slightly thicker notebook if they could address this in design, I really like this laptop in every other way but having a design feature that causes the one thing I look at the most to reflect light unevenly and subsequently forces me to carry what my cubemates lovingly call a keyboard cozy..... well come on, it exposes the diaper used to wax my car side and that can be a bit annoying.

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Answer 6

Dogcow-Moof

Level 8

36,473 points

Jun 4, 2007 9:22 PM in response to Samuel Muindi

I just always use the foam sheet that comes with the machine just to be safe and it works well.

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Answer 7

Jun 5, 2007 3:28 AM in response to Samuel Muindi

Oh we know, trust us 🙂

I'm not sure the Macbook Pros are immune from this. If it bothers you a lot, you can just use the same cloth for a Powerbook G4 (the keyboards are the same size)

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Answer 8

Jun 5, 2007 4:46 AM in response to Dogcow-Moof

Does anybody think the foam sheet isn't good enough? Would some other material be better? Also, any other reasons to keep it rather than this screen dinging problem? (Why do they put it there in the first place, anyway?)

I still keep my foam sheet but i didn't know about this damage the screen issue. I was just keeping it handy because I'm a bit touchy when it comes to dust and other such particles in my keyboard. I know, it's probably stupid - but, in my defense, there's a lot of dust in my house. 😉

Have a good day everybody.

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Answer 9

Dogcow-Moof

Level 8

36,473 points

Jun 5, 2007 7:22 AM in response to Mircea Nestor

It's put there to protect the screen during shipping, which is likely to cause more rough handling and potential bounce between the keys and screen than the unit is likely to get in everyday use.

I don't know if it keeps the keys from damaging the screen in normal use but it does keep the oils and such from transferring from the keys back to the screen.

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Answer 10

Samuel Muindi Author

Level 2

296 points

Jun 5, 2007 10:37 AM in response to Dogcow-Moof

I'm still getting used to my new Macbook Pro, but I can stay with total certainty that the Apple issued foam shipping insert was NOT enough to protect the screen on my old G4 Powerbook.

The keys shredded both the foam and dinged the screen. And no, I never closed the machine hard or squeezed it when it was closed. I have a colleague who had the exact same machine and never had this problem. My guess is that there is a fair amount of variation from laptop to laptop.

So, having been burned once, I'm going to stick with an insert for this Macbook Pro, which is kind of a pain. I was hoping to chuck it.

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