“First it was swelling batteries, now some Apple computer users are reporting a very different problem, with their pristine white MacBook’s displaying yellowish stains in the area around the keyboard where their hands rest,” Louisa Hearn reports for The Sydney Morning Herald.
“The MacBook was introduced to the market early this year and, while there are several references on Apple’s own user forums to the stains, a number of blogs devoted to flaws in Apple hardware have complained that the company has blocked or closed some of these discussions,” Hearn reports.
Full article here.
Apple Discussion Thread: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=516645&tstart=0
According to Damien Barrett, writing for TUAW, “This discoloration is not dirt and cannot be cleaned by anything that people have tried, and the list is extensive: iKlear and similar cleaners, hot water, Windex, diluted bleach, a Magic Eraser…the list is long. There definitely appears to be a problem here with the plastic that Apple has used for the palm rests on the first-generation white MacBooks.”
Full article here.
Some photos of the yellow stains: http://flickr.com/photos/tswartz/tags/macbook/
MacDailyNews Take: Natural oils from the users’ palms reacting with the particular plastic used in the MacBook case? If not, then why is the yellowing happening only on the palm rests? Heat affecting the MacBook plastic? A possibility perhaps, but, again, why only on the palm rests? There isn’t a plastic-warming processor directly under each palm rest. What do you think?
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I think people need to wash their hands. Apples fault? Dont think so.
Hey they’re just trying to look like the original 128k Macs from 1984.
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the stains appear to go into the keyboard area (notice around the page down key) why would someones hands be in such close proximity to the keyboard while using it? this looks like another attempt to taint the apple image.
I read this somewhere else… maybe Daring Fireball…. and I seem to remember reading that NOTHING cleans it off. I seems as if the plastic is being affected by heat and turning color. At least, that’s what I read… I haven’t seen the problem firsthand, so who knows. I’m just passing on what I read.
I knowed dat day wuz yella. They jus’ skeared ’tis all..Give da lil’ fellers a break..
That dude needs to take a shower or else he does not deserve an Apple.
At the BestBuy near my house that MacBook is always on and people are always playing with them and nothing has happened to its color since it got in.
TAKE A SHOWER and stop cryin’!!!!
My Macbook seems to turn yellow whenever I eat a hot dog at my desk. It also seems to produce tiny pieces of onion and relish. Weird.
We will use any means necessary to keep our hegemony intact.
If you think this or the iPod nano scratch or the sweatshop claims or the MacBook heat stuff or the Mac virus fakes were dirty moves, you’re super naive.
We fscking invented dirty pool and we haven’t even started to play, yet.
Watch and learn, little rebel Mac-using boys and girls.
We didn’t fscking get here by accident.
What do you think?
That it’s time to go back to either titanium or black plastic.
And that it’s pretty lousy of Apple to quell discussion of the problem. Apple, NOBODY EVER WON by trying to cover a problem up; it always makes things far worse. What are you turning into, an auto maker?
Oils may be the problem — but more likely is that some people (even after washing) secrete certain types of organic acids in their perspiration.
Some do — some don’t.
Acids will definitely have a negative impact on certain plastic formulations.
Non-acetone nail polish remover
Wear gloves if your nicotine oozing pussball of fermenting fecal matter. You dirty little ape you.
Wash your hands with dish soap to get rid of the ‘motion lotion’ before touching your white precious, no the other white precious you horny monkey you.
A friend of mine had this problem after only a couple weeks and I think Apple will have to address this one. This was not an issue with previous consumer Apple laptops (iBooks). Perhaps a finishing phase was skipped or the new material not fully tested. If it was simply user grime it could be remedied with some sort of cleaner. It’s likely oil from the skin and the material has been left too porous.
Ah, yes, Meesah, Jobs. We make special prastic just for you!!
You Americans alrays compraining. Buy the brack Macbook instead.
I worked with a woman who was issued the exact same laptop as me (an HP). She was with the company for only six months but when she returned the computer, the palm rest areas, below the keyboard, looked like they were covered in a thick film… which is odd because these laptops had black plastic cases. It looked awful and we initially assumed she never washed her hands even though she always appeared very well groomed.
When we tried to clean it off, nothing worked! In fact, it turned out the discoloration was caused by some sort of chemical reaction to the skin cream she used. The plastic had fine hairline cracks running deep into the surface.
In the end, we used a dremel tool to buff it smooth and painted the areas with a little plastic model spray paint. It looked OK up until it died three months later — it was an HP after all.
I suspect there is a similar chemical reation happening with the MacBook profiled in the article. Unfortunately, I don’t think you’d get away with that on the white plastic MacBook case.
For my own personal system, I’ll continue to stick with the Aluminum Pro models
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I know this is offtopic, but I just found out that Apple Computer (under Steve Jobs round #1) actually SAVED MICROSOFT FROM BANKRUPTCY!!!
In 1977 Gates and Allen sent a letter of protest to MITS, whereupon MITS got a judge to restrain Microsoft from disclosing 8080 BASIC code to any third party. Microsoft was saved from bankruptcy only by payments for the 6502 BASIC from Apple Computer.
http://www.vanwensveen.nl/rants/microsoft/IhateMS_1.html
Very Very interesting read!!!
Ok back to your dirty Macbooks.
more info here http://www.stainedbook.info/
I read something about this awhile ago and apparently this phenomenon was also seen on someone’s peecee keyboard. The cause may be related to the amount of acidity in some people’s sweat.
From what I remember about the article, nail polish remover removed it easily.
Please, PLEASE don’t tell me we now have the fanboys out in force again. I’ve used white keyboards (plastic) for over 20 years, including the last 18 months on a standard-issue Apple, and all of them obviously have been in contact with hand and finger oils the whole time. No yellow EVER on any board. The Apple looks like new.
And wash your hands before each use? WTF! It’s a damn computer! Am I supposed to wash my hands before I turn on the radio or the stove, or maybe before I touch the steering wheel of my car? Wear gloves to type? Please. Don’t I remember the mantra that Macs are supposed to make life easier? Not if washing your hands all day long is the solution.
Apple should address this issue, It seems to me that between the heat from the MB and the oils of ones hands are turning the the MB yellow.
Cook me some eggs
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
what’s the matter with typing with gloves on?
I always knew Mac users were ‘yeller.’
With my typing speed, If I had to wear gloves, it’d probably be quicker for me to deliver a letter in person than send an e-mail.
Apple should coat that part of the MacBook with the same sort of clear plastic coating used with the MacBook Pro.
I think this is a quality control issue. I had a white iBook for years without a problem. More field testing is needed for these products prior to making them available to the public. That’s tricky with Apple’s well-known secrecy.
I hope they addess these issues promptly and maturely. I want a MacBook, but this is just embarrassing.
ManMania is right, several posters indicated that nail polish remover worked. Anyway, I bought black one so
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Its the long term effect of using Windows XP via Bootcamp.
1. Go to the Apple Retail stores.
2. Look at the white MacBooks.
3. Notice this problem not occuring.
Lastly, know that the Apple Store is the place where MacBooks are touched by thousands and thousands of all kinds of hands, ranging in, oils, type, size, gender and cleanliness.
Again, their MacBooks look just fine. No yellow.
Not Apple’s issue. Some folks need to quit eating yellow curry-flavored foods with their hands before using MacBooks.
1. Go to the Apple Retail stores.
2. Look at the white MacBooks.
3. Notice this problem not occuring.
Or it could just mean that at first sign of yellowing they swop out the offending MB with a fresh one, no?
I think Foxconn should hire all the folks with yellowing MB’s and take them to China to work in quality control. If the cases turn yellow they can change the chemical composition of the plastic to prevent that from happening.
Steve Ballmer is sneaking into users’ houses each night and peeing on them.
And now I’m SURE Apple will be bombarded with crap from the media and anal-ysts, all making a huge fuss over such a small issue. It only takes a few bad machines to make them all look bad.
If companies like Dell didn’t suck so much, I guess the media would swarm over something like this (I didn’t hear about the Dell bursting into flames anywhere but here, and wherever the original article is from.). But how many problems are found every waking moment by those Dell/Windows sufferers? Redic. I hate people.
Or it could just mean that at first sign of yellowing they swop out the offending MB with a fresh one, no?
—
which, of course, would only be a band aid solution as they sell about a million MacBooks every quarter…
gee did you consider all the 3rd party retailers.. at least they don’t have a vested interest in lying.. i phoned a few, they’ve never heard of this problem
That yellow means it’s working!
Didn’t Apple file a patent on cases that change color?
this is not an issue of 1 guy with dirty hands complaining. this is a widespread issue, and has been reported to appear at around 3 weeks of use.
more info here: http://www.stainedbook.info/
there does seem to be a solution (worked on some macbooks), which is a non-acetone nail polish remover.
I have a white macbook and am worried about this issue. (ive had my macbook for a week now)
i do think apple needs to do something about it. whether it be supplying new keyboard hand rests, or a substance that can remove and stop further discolouration.
1. Go to the Apple Retail stores.
2. Look at the white MacBooks.
3. Notice this problem not occuring.
Question: Have you actually gone and taken a look? I have. The store I visited is extreemly popular and packed with customers. It is not occuring at that Apple Store’s MacBooks.
Or it could just mean that at first sign of yellowing they swop out the offending MB with a fresh one, no?
Answer: No. Apple does not do this. I once worked at an Apple Retail Store and this would be so cost prohibative, it would simply not be done. It would be eaiser to just fix the problem at the factory level – if there was a problem.
I have an iBook – white – three years old. The hand/palm area is indeed gray’d, but not yellow and no where near the issues posted online, but it is certainly not brand new white.
If this problem is occuring it is not at epidemic porportions, but hit and miss, and posted online as a huge Apple issue. Clearly, it is not a massive problem or it would be tens of thousands of users demanding a fix.
I seen this on a few but out of all the stores I been in where these laptops have been in use and some see constant, none have this happening.
I think it’s particular to individuals as opposed to a defect. Still sucks though.
I’m just saying that, “Hey I went to the Apple store where MacBooks are handled by hordes of grubbly little nose miners and I don’t see yellow MacBooks there so there must not be a problem” is really a thin argument.
Also, if the problem is non existent then why would it be cost prohibative? They obviously need to fix this at the manufacturing stage, but in the short term you can bet the farm that they will replace a yellowing MacBook that’s on display in one of their stores.
Wash you damn hands, nerds, and it won’t happen! Take a bath, stinky!
apple does have problems time to time. My macbook moos at certain temps. They need to fix that as well.
Yellow is the new white.
Now we know why Apple charges $150 more for black.
“My macbook moos at certain temps.”
That sounds like a hidden Easter egg joke on Longhorn. Be glad it doesn’t lactate.
“Take a bath, stinky!”
Milk bath?
It simply astounds me how Apple manages to sell anything at all!
First you have the pissed off bunch who own an older Mac/iPod/whatever who, in order to make themselves feel better, bitch about the new model. All it takes is one mention of a difference of design, or a percieved flaw, and dozens of idiots start parroting it all over the place. Never mind the fact they never have even seen the new model.
Then you have the truly scary fan boys who are so fanatical about their new Apple product that they bitch and moan over every single little imperfection they can manage to dream up. “My tab key is mushy, boo hoo!”
Get a frickin life! It’s a G. D. tool, a machine, and a damn fine one at that. Knock it around, scratch it up, yellow it, use it up and go buy yerself a new one for cryin out loud!
Or, make yourself happy – wrap it in shrinkwrap and set it on a shelf and bitch about the flaws you discover.
Sheesh!
Are they referring to a cleaning product called “Magic Eraser” or a true magic eraser? I am sure that a true magic eraser could remove the stains and a whole lot more.
one word……….
cheetos
“cheetos”
Isn’t that orange? Besides, wouldn’t that only affect 10.0 users?
<warning: requires thought>
I used 3M Scotchgard Paint Protection film tp protect the area below the keyboard on my Powerbook from getting scratched, etc.. It’s the same stuff I use to protect the paint on my car. Powerbook looked like it was brand new when I sold it.
I hate to say this, but I HAVE seen this at an Apple retail store. Some of the other employees didn’t even notice it until I told them – very faint, light yellow/tan discolring on one out of three white MacBooks. But the pattern is odd, almost as if it’s coming from inside… not from people touching.
Big Thanks to the Mac Daily News readers who helped me out with my eMacs at work .
Everytime the eMacs were booted up iTunes would automatically start up. I followed one of the suggestions posted by you guys and problem solved !!!
The soluttion was go to System Preferences, User accounts , login items and then delete iTunes from the list.
Again thanks guys
Dave.
Then you have the truly scary fan boys who are so fanatical about their new Apple product that they bitch and moan over every single little imperfection they can manage to dream up. “My tab key is mushy, boo hoo!”
Just like auto magazine editors who issue poor reviews over slightly misaligned cup holders. Little details like safety and reliability are taken for granted.
Get a frickin life! It’s a G. D. tool, a machine, and a damn fine one at that. Knock it around, scratch it up, yellow it, use it up and go buy yerself a new one for cryin out loud!
Apple users expect better. I have a 20-year-old Apple II that’s still functional (and surprisingly usable!); how many PC’s can claim that? If we wanted cheap disposable commodity junk we’d buy Dell.
REPEAT ONLY USE NON-ACETONE BASED NAIL POLISH REMOVER!!
If you use acetone it will EAT the plastic!!!
And then you can’t get a new MacBook because, well you damaged it.
If I had the smarts, I would market plastic sheets with adhesive that would cover those affected areas. One could put sports logos on them, calendars, whatever, etc.
This is ridiculous, I gotta go to bed…..Good night folks.
I think I’ll stick with my 12inch iBook G4 1.2 Ghz for a while. Maybe 3 years or so, or when they sell the Black MacBook for $999
I’ve had it 10 months and still looks new.
It might be a problem with peoples sweat, as mentioned above.
There have been cases of people who have tarnished their watches and valuable jewelry because of their sweat.
In some cases it was because of things they had eaten and medication they were on, for example a course of antibiotics.
We are toxic mammals after all.
Leo.
I think we should all use Rubber gloves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the plastic should be resistance of perspiration, oil or whatever that turn the plastic to yellowish…
in this case, the Macbook sucks.
Some people just have body chemistries. My brother has worn similar areas on every laptop he’s ever owned. After about three months it looks like he’s been rubbing certain sections of his Vaio with very fine sandpaper, and also, he wears the type off the keys very quickly as well. Strange, but some folks are just like that. He replaces his laptop about once a year because of it.
Sorry, that should read, “Some people just have strange body chemistries.”
Let’s wait and see how the inevitable lawsuit, brought on by the inevitable lawyer, on retainer to Microsoft, turns out.
Microsoft is such a financier of FUD projects that any bad shit connected to any Apple products is probably being promoted by the dark side of the force.
As well, a small percentage of all switchers are really Microsoft double agents. It was inevitable. Let’s round them up and ship them to Gitmo.
Hmmm, I used to work for a plastic injection molding company. My guess is that Apple tried to save a few too many pennies and changed vendors. Differences in the material and injection process is causing some to yellow.
I will also guess that Apple gets its cases from several mfgs. So you will only see this coming from the new vendors. Hey that is how companies keep this kind of thing in house. Special processes that are required to make it right. You keep those secret so new vendors have to screw up and you get the work back.
I would guess micro cracks collecting dirt and maybe mold.
N.
To all those posting and saying that we yellowbook owners need to wash our hands… please. If we were the types of people who didn’t wash our hands, we wouldn’t be complaining about this. The yellowing started on mine after two weeks, and I hadn’t even used it all that much. I’ve had an iBook for years and nothing like this has occured.
There’s a problem, a flaw or something, and Apple needs to address it, even if it’s particular to certain people.
R
The white MacBooks on display at the Apple Store in London have all developed this yellow stain. Several appear to have scratched quite easily along the hinged side of the back of the screen, too. Never happened to iBooks, so something is definitely wrong. “Natural oils from the users’ palms”? Rubbish.
Problem solved! You may remember that, a few months ago, it was discovered that Apple had submitted files to the patents office that contained descriptions for the case design of a so called ‘Chameleon Mac’ which was able to change colour. It now looks that Apple has actually started to manufacture these new designs and is incorporating them into the new laptops.
I don’t have a Macbook, but my light beige colored Logitech keyboard including its grey palm rest have yellowed after more than a year of usage (yes I’m a PC user), it looks a lot like the stain patterns on the photos of the stained white Macbooks.
While its a pain, I suppose you should wipe your white Macbook on a regular basis to keep the stains from setting in permanently (or get the black one). But damn I wish Apple would change the material used, or lower the price for the black ones, well, or charge slightly higher for the white ones with better material (because I want one!!).
This is almost like the pitting issue on the first alubooks. It will most likely only affect some hundred machines and subsequent batches will be fine.
Dirty Pierre le Punk: Try to be original.
Apple continues to create crap that explodes and kills. Everything they create is a disaster and needs to be pulled from the market. Now maybe people will see the problem and purchase real computers from Lenovo and Dell. Time to get away from toys that are poorly designed and executed. Also time to laugh at all the goofs that have been purchasing Apple stock over the last couple of months…can you say “wave goodbye to your money”?
Apple customers are ALWAYS wrong!
Apple is ALWAYS right!
It’s called acid-fingers. Each person is different. I used to have a buddy who
would play my guitar with new strings and a week later my guitar string were black. I know a guy who strings grand pianos and he has to wear gloves where the other guy doesn’t have to. I think this could be why some are turing yellow and why some aren’t.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!! CHEESE CURLS!!!
Seems too strange for me to believe skin oils could cause this. I’m thinking maybe they are all using some specific lotion or moisturizing soap which is rubbing off and reacting with the plastic.
it is apple’s fault. they should only sell the white macbook to people with good hygene. those with questionable washing habits should be forced to buy the black macbook.
MDN – you don’t get it. It’s about power per watt. The ultra-efficient, ultra cool Yawn-ah, er Yonah, er Core Duo, er Core 2 Duo (at least until next month, I think that’s the name) located under the palmrests is producing more heat than the trusty PowerPC G4 that was in the prior model. It’s all about efficiency. Apple gets to use Intel’s new technology that will ultimately secure all digital rights at the processor level, we get to use Microsoft Windows (yeah! – wait, didn’t we “switch” to Mac to get away from that?), Photoshop now runs slower (oh yeah – next year there will be some Universal Binaries or whatever to help the Intel chips match PowerPC performance) and the new MacBooks will turn yellow from normal use. Maybe Apple could patent this new “chameleon-skin” feature and even use it in the iPod. We already have black iPods so how about yellow? Maybe some sort of pro-ethanol tie-in promoting the environment or something. All the while our buddy Steve gets to worry with running Disneyland and we get told how great our new Intel machines are while we sit back and watch PowerPC chips running all three of the new high-end video game consoles. As the McDonald’s slogan goes…”I’m lovin’ it”.
White plastic yellows with age and UV exposure. Usually because it yellows evenly and the effect is gradual it’s not that noticeable (until you place it near an New white unit).
likely the plastic is getting prematurely oxidized by sweat. if that’s the case basically nothing will remove the stain.
Apple would need to change to a different plastic.
Maybe people are peeing on their computers?
Maybe some fetish cult of Apple users that believe urine is the way to happinesss. That and peeing on a whit Mac.
“I think people need to wash their hands. Apples fault? Dont think so.”
WHAT??!!
Of course it’s the manufacturer’s fault (Apple in this case). No one is going to use hand sanitizer each time they want to type an email. I mean, you don’t have to do so when using a Dell, why should you when using a Mac?! There was something similar happening with the black Macbooks alittle while ago.
Are you all sure those are not ass cheek prints on their computers? I have seen several photos of these and it looks like people are dropping their trousers and sitting their asses on the computers.
And the stain between the ass prints….testicle prints anyone???
I think it’s too early to tell. There are however some ignorant people who act like apple can’t do anything wrong. scratchy iPods anyone?
We will use any means necessary to keep our hegemony intact.
If you think this or the iPod nano scratch or the sweatshop claims or the MacBook heat stuff or the Mac virus fakes were dirty moves, you’re super naive.
We fscking invented dirty pool and we haven’t even started to play, yet.
Watch and learn, little rebel Mac-using boys and girls.
We didn’t fscking get here by accident.
Could it be from smokers….I know my Grand-Dad turns somethings in there house yellow with the ciggerete smoke.
I think it is just from dirty people…
….If you used a white dell or accer or IBM computer it might have the same problems the iBooks were pretty good but this is first gen we must remember….
People should stop eating Pizza while working on their computer.
My MacBook is perfectly white and tidy.
-L
People’s body oils and sweat are very individual in their consistency. Some can be outright corrosive, some stink, some don’t stink at all. My informed opinion is, the plastic coating of the MacBook interiors is reacting with a particular kind of oil/sweat. This is why not everyone’s MacBook gets stained, and why even people who clean their hands before use have stained MacBooks.
No stains here, and I have pretty oily skin.
Apple could readily determine the source of the defective handrests if they have traceability on their vendors sources of raw material. It is possible the problem is a result of erratic controls on the molding process or contaminated resin. I think it is unlikely that the cause is the users of the machines. Assuming the plastic is supposed to be the same as in the iBooks (where there does not appear to be a problem) maybe they have a new vendor manufacturing some of the handrests. Obviously Apple should address this problem quickly.
“cheetos”
Isn’t that orange? Besides, wouldn’t that only affect 10.0 users?
<warning: requires thought>
10.0
code name “cheetah”
did i get it?
Apple continues to create crap that explodes and kills. Everything they create is a disaster and needs to be pulled from the market. Now maybe people will see the problem and purchase real computers from Lenovo and Dell.
I promise the American people that I will keep them safe from destructification by the products of Apricot Computers Inc.
I have commissioned the Notional Suckurity Agency and other government departments to discover whether Apple is developing a WMD programme in direct contravention of United Nations reservations.
I’ve studied a fair amount of chemistry, including organic chemistry, and I’ve also worked extensively with thermoplastics and large batches of photo chemistry. My Dad was a pharmacist. I ‘picked up’ some things from all of this…
It occurs to me that the cause of a problem like this could be relatively simple -poor quality control in materials- bad or contaminated polycarbonate or mold release material, or relatively complex -an unlikely combination of body chemistry and drug or vitamin interaction.
It has been stated that the discoloration is (almost) impossible to remove. This observation leads to a potential hypothesis that the discoloration is not a surface affect, but rather imbedded or immersed into the plastic. Polycarbonate is known for its strength and virtual imperviousness. If it is true that a chemical mechanism is affecting the plastic just so, then with a chemical analysis of the plastic itself (and perhaps a list of the owners’ perscriptions and supplements) a determination can be made of just what chemical interactions are at the root of the problem.
My advice for those seeing the discoloration on their otherwise perfect MacBooks?
Cut down on the meds!
News From Apple – Source of stains found!
————————————–
Some white MacBook owners are surfing too much porn. Glossy screens also reporting strange “stains”…………….
Apple Replacing Stained MacBooks
nittany4: Ding! Ding!
I had to replace my yellow keyboard, over a long period of time it turned yellow.
The replacement keyboard has started to turn yellow already, just after a few weeks OMG? it wasnt cheap to replace either?
So its a random, not to do with our hands.