The flame war on whether the original chassis design sucks or rocks is not that interesting.
Maybe the next phase of Apple could return to flowing shapes and save our wrists.
I also really like this article and am 100% supportive of people messing around and modifying their stuff.
Later on the topic came up online and someone noted something to the effective of:
“If I saw a group of photographers taking pictures, I bet I could pick out the best photographer just based on how beat up their equipment is.”
I realized based on my own experience, that was probably true.
The idea being use your tools and worry about the output, not how they look.
The modding community is a shadow of its old self these days
I get the feeling that might not be the greatest idea in some fields.
For example, anything that could kill you (or others) if it goes wrong. ;)
If I have it in my lap, the outer ball of each wrist is resting on the body to the left and right of the trackpad and that means my forearms are angled upwards, away from the edges. They never rest on the edge of the laptop until I use the trackpad, and then the puffy outer pad of my palm is resting on the laptop edge. Still very comfortable.
If I'm using it at a desk it's the same story. My seat is high enough (relative to the desk) that my forearms lift up and away from the laptop. Never resting on the edge.
Are people seated so low so that the desk height is at breast level and they're making T-Rex arms to reach the keyboard? It seems so intuitively obvious to avoid such positions.
The glare is annoying. I would like to work outside more often.
Mind you, I don't really like the poor isolation and floating ground causing a tingling sensation when you touch it while charging, the lid hinge doesn't quite have enough internal resistance, the keys get stuck way too easily, etc. The sharp-corners build defect is fine for me though.
I don’t care about the sharp edges because 1) they’re not actually that sharp. 2) I don’t rest my wrists on them.
I mostly work from a desk with an external monitor and the laptop cantered below it. I avoid mice and try to use keyboard shortcuts.
I’ve used Dells, HPs and Thinkpads and the current MacBook Pros are still my favourite design.
Horses for courses, I guess.
He wanted a razor blade made out of pure aluminum that had no function at all but stood as a testament to his design aesthetic.
- Battery: no other laptop comes even close
- Trackpad: I don't use a mouse anymore, no other laptop comes close
- Audio: No other laptop comes close
"Sharp edges" really don't bother me to be honest, I wouldn't have noticed it if nobody told me.
I have a nano-texture screen, and it works great in daylight.
Just goes to show how opinions can differ.
Keyboard on Macs is pretty much good, other than the early butterfly version, rest is definitely above average and it just feels good. Glare is a problem, but darkest basement is an overstatement.
It might not fit your workflow or you might be expecting super niche, but it is the worlds most popular laptop for both regular users and developers for a reason. Input devices and screen are significant part of the Macbook appeal, so definitely not almost unusable.
And yes the keyboards are terrible too. Up to 2015 it was OK but I can't work with the butterfly ones and the "new and improved" scissor ones that came after that. They still have a lot less travel than the ones from up to 2015.
I never sanded my metal macbooks though I did do so with a plastic one I had. I just didn't really use them much as laptop anymore.
the lock screen doesnt show battery charge level. dead battery? mac wont start for 15 min on connecting power... still need half ass homebrew
My Dell XPS is almost as sharp (there's a microscopic chamfer, which won't be enough to explain the difference), but because the body is wedge-shaped, the keyboard sits at a slight angle which makes it feel so much better to me. Propping the back of the Macbook on something helps - only needs to be 2-3mm to make a difference.
It's like the static electricity issues that plagued them in the 2010s. They produced shocks that were actually painful, the sort that I've only experienced before from CRT screens in metal housings. The chargers contained a grounding pin internally, but it wasn't actually connected to anything. Utter madness, and would have been such an easy thing to fix - but it persisted until they replaced the charging port with usb-c.
See https://www.reddit.com/r/macbook/s/hbyVh5SJhw for another poor soul with the same caustic skin
It's easy for me to feel the mains frequency while gently rubbing the top surface of the MacBook while it's plugged in. Really feels unsafe, but neither me nor the computer have suffered any serious injuries yet.
> acidic sweat. once you got through the anodization the raw aluminum wears faster....
If one files off the sharp edges, won’t the sweat eat through everything faster, as that protective layer was filed off.
Can it cause the plastic on the mouse to break down?
If I use the 3-prong, which is usually tied to a long cable, I don’t feel the buzz.
I assumed that the additional grounding helped.
Author's another post on "The Seasons are Wrong" [0] is excellent too and I fully support both approaches.
I would propose boundaries that align partly with how I perceive the weather, and partly with how we plan our year (by months): Summer starts June 1st, Fall starts September 1st, Winter starts December 1st, and Spring starts March 1st.
In Australia it's just split up by months, with each season being 3 months long:
March 1 - Autumn starts June 1 - Winter starts Sept 1 - Spring starts Dec 1 - Summer starts
Of cause, those in far northern Australia, only really have Dry and Wet seasons. I have no idea when those are.
That said being an English speaking country and absorbing a lot of media from other English speaking countries, there’s been a slow drift towards the American system making its way in, so younger generations are more likely to use American seasons and older people more likely to use traditional seasons, though you’ll find people of all age groups using either. Certainly they taught the traditional seasons in school when I was a kid, I wonder which they teach now.
(Of course, you could make yet another system based on the weather where summer is approximately two weeks in July, winter is a thing that happens every few years and the rest is a sequence of mild weather with occasional wind and scattered showers)
In India our summer holidays start at the end of March and finish in the start of June. That’s usually our hottest months too. And a lot of our regional “New Year” calendar’s and related festivals are on April 14th and can probably be considered the start of summer.
https://youtu.be/y8HEZ-x4-_w?t=402
Getting the shade right could be tricky though.
Co-worker 1: Interesting. I wonder if that voids the warranty. It's Apple you know.
Co-worker 2: May Jobs have mercy on their soul...
Co-worker 3: Not a bad idea. But not sure if that would cause problems with structural integrity of the laptop, like if you drop it or something.
Co-worker 4: The only downside I see is that you can no longer say "Hey, that's a sharp-looking laptop!"
I don't know WHY... But corporate bureaucracies have logic of their own.
When this line of MacBooks first came out in 2021 and I bought one (I desperately needed an upgrade), I was joking that it's top-notch hardware.
Drop them like it’s hot!
Luckily I use it like a desktop 95percent of the time.
[1] https://x.com/andrewculver/status/1297575768520716288/photo/...
I've got no idea why, but the sharp feeling is amazing.
These objects are becoming more like clothing and less like unyielding industrial machines. It's to the point that I'd be genuinely disgusted to handle any used laptop regardless of how "clean" it is.
And yes, why are they so sharp?
I seem to recall my wife having the plastic MacBook that came out circa 2006 and the edges on that thing were legitimately painful.
I always marvel at how sharp the points are on the notch of the lid on my current MacBook. Very very pointy.
they intentionally ship them sharp so you can file them down to your desired fillet
the design is very human
They are quite stabby and I hate them.
https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/aca51a7051edc493b19cfd93da...
I have intrusive thoughts of trying to cut my finger over it, but so far the attempts were unsuccesful.
And yes it is a corner (or vertex), where two planes meet. Edge can also be correct, but corner is not wrong.
Unibody Intels before that were really really sharp.
Alternatively, because they care about aesthetics more than utility and comfort.
Since I mentioned Tahoe, it bears repeating, my spotlight is still broken.
[0] https://ljpuk.net/2025/05/23/how-does-the-space-black-macboo...
So the seam looks neat when the macbook is closed, eg. https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/MacBo...
But the obvious way to handle that problem is to put it in a case. For example: https://www.itslaut.com/products/crystal-x-case-for-macbook-...
I wasn't thrilled with a product design that required a case to protect the rest of the world from the product, but it obviously makes more sense than trying to file the MacBook yourself.
get a single-cut fine file, maybe with a little more weight than the one in the video. single cut file has diagonal slots and allows firm and continuous contact with the piece. most files are double cut, have two sets of slots and look like bumpy diamonds. they remove more material but tend to bounce.
use long even strokes with firm pressure, only during the fore stroke. watch out for roll-off, where you unconsciously change the angle or pressure of the file as you're at the end of the stroke.
you can make a pretty even-looking chamfer that way.
- Sharp edges eat into my forearms.
- Glossy screen makes it hard to see when it's light out.
- The keys have a real hard stop when you press on them which tires out my hands.
- An arrogant desire to obsolete ports.
I don't understand the appeal of the machine, it feels like style over function everywhere.
Now the only annoying things are the MacOS window manager (uBar attempts to fix this, but is flaky) and the weird keyboard mappings for things like "start of line", "end of line", "previous word", etc. Karabiner fixes those if you're willing to invest 3 hours in setting it up.
Though you're right that machines whose exteriors are customized and unusual are less likely to get stolen.
I think there must be a better solution than a file, like an attachment to effectively round the edges, or even something like fingerless gloves.
On the other hand Apple always replace the top case when the keyboard needs changing so the filing approach may not be entirely insane. It might send a message to Apple.
Especially the gloves, come one, that's peak Apple "you're just using it wrong" mentality. Apple made a bad usability decision for the sake of sexier design. It's not your fault, it's theirs. Fix the defect, not yourself.
Are your wrists supposed to be coming into contact with that? I suspect many of us have bad posture and do rest our wrists like that, but if your concern is wrist comfort, you probably want to consider that you're going out of your way to enable harmful posture.
Totally fine to do whatever you want to your personal belongings though.
I'm betting they don't notice if I file down the corners. Hell they probably wouldn't notice if I just cut the corners off with a fret saw. But God forbid I try to install an ad blocker or use Firefox.
"Ethical standpoint" seems like the wrong choice of words. I think you mean "equipment ownership standpoint.". Ethical implies a set of values, vs contractual terms of equipment use.
You can't be unethical to your employer, only to people like your coworkers and customers, or other living beings that your business activity impacts.
Bold move to do this on your work Macbook. I'd be too worried of getting chased down with a bill when returning the laptop eventually.
Literally "you're holding it wrong".
It's a laptop computer.
is this an employer-issued computer? Like if I did something similar on my DELL laptop (us lowly devs at %DAY_JOB% don't have Macs), management would be up my ass the minute they saw this, if only because the maintenance agreement the company has with our supplier will likely be voided for my machine.
I've grown to appreciate unapologetic trolling of people who care way too much about what other people do to themselves or their own private property.
I'm strongly convinced that modern iPhones designed to use in case as basic idea, while using iPhone without case is like using that Nokia phone unit when you take the housing off. In that case I think that iPad with magnetic keyboard (which is soft-touch plastic) is the future of Apple mobile computers.
It looks a bit strange, but to each their own, I suppose.
EDIT: this thing, below the trackpad https://imgur.com/a/DVzlDOj (What’s that even called? And is there a better image hosting service than Imgur?)
Thank you Apple, you have taken designed obsolescence to a new level.
MacBooks (and many laptops) have a tiny amount of alternating current that leaks through the metal chassis to ground. When you use the compact 2-prong power adapter (the “duck head” without a ground pin), there’s no path for this leakage current to safely flow to earth ground — so it flows through you instead, creating that tingling sensation.
Interestingly I haven’t felt this when using my 2 prong NAND Anker adapter.
found the Windows 8 enthusiast! haha, I kid. (I myself use a tiling window manager , i3, with completely square windows without any gaps or rounding)
They don't have to be any particular shape or size. The property of being virtual overrides everything else when free of these self-imposed constraints.
Even if you lose the GUI and go back to text, the ideal terminal is a plane of infinite columns of arbitrary cell size that dynamically fills your field of view.
I'd further argue that the only reason VR/AR isn't more widely adopted is the lack of orthographic vs perspective modality per application (and uncomfortable headsets). In VR/AR, you don't want a window manager or even windows at all. What you want is a field manager (as in FOV "fields" of varying opacity that can be composited by the user). Shape and size is just an arbitrary region blended in with the environment.
For the sake of ergonomics, you'd more often prefer to project an interface onto a surface if you had the choice. When you don't, you probably want the projection to be orthographic, but for the edges to be fuzzy if not invisible. You'd generally want to be able to layer these interfaces as well instead of having opaque rectangles always in your way.
So I took some 1000 grit sand paper for metal and gently wet sanded the edge. If you rotate it a little you can get a very small radius evenly around the edge and it will keep a nice finish that matches brushed aluminum.
I'd actually feel comfortable doing this to a Macbook having done it to the drawer handles. Just use little pressure, back the paper with something flat, and check your progress often. It takes very little to remove the sharpness to the edge, to the point it's hard to see with the naked eye.
The machine is fine and I didn’t even have to adjust the screen as it was still correctly in place but on that corner the aluminium lifted up forming a mountain shape, about 2 mm tall and very sharp.
Not only this was uncomfortable, but it also meant I couldn’t close the lid properly and might eventually crack the screen from it, so I filed it away. Like OP, I started with a pretty gritty file to get most of the tip off, then finished with a multi-tool with the sanding attachment. I went through a few grits but I got bored long before it was smooth.
In the end, I actually liked the look, and have been considering going all around like OP. I may have to do it now.
Depending on exactly how much magnesium is in the alloy, metal shavings can be highly flammable and otherwise hazardous.
I think it's fine to mess with stuff like this, just make sure you know what you can do safely to the materials.
I like the idea of fully blending the notch, rather than just rounding slightly. Looks comfy and distinct!
I would love to see the guys reactions when you have to give this back.
All the same, hell yeah.
> This was on my work computer. I expect to similarly modify future work computers, and I would be happy to help you modify yours if you need a little encouragement.
I don’t understand the actual decision but I appreciate the gusto with which it was made.
Respect.
I definitely empathize with "concerned I would file through the machine."
Don't treat your lathe faceplate as a precious artifact. Need to clamp an oddly shaped part to it? Drill and tap some holes. That's what it is for.
Is that reamer too long to fit? Cut it shorter.
Modify your tools to make you happier or more productive.
What if the modification doesn't turn out well? Great! You learned something. Make the next one better.
I have to say that I now access the 8 or so machines across my LAN and VPS via a Macbook Air rested on my lap, either through RDP or SSH. I probably use this 80% of the time. Because the machine is on my lap, held up at about 30 degrees on my lap, I can't say I ever noticed the sharp edges, until this post!
Also a little bit pedantry, you seem to have mostly filed the edge off, which seemed to be the real issue, the corners on that center divet are filed off, but its mostly edges
He honestly seems like a terrible designer, which seems corroborated by him doing nothing of remote interest outside of Apple and barely inside it. The items that are regarded as design epochs, like the iPod, we're not his.
I suppose I would prefer it nice and rounded and soft on my wrist - but I don't feel like it's quite as extreme as this thread would have you believe lol
Few years back, I tried to look on reddit for complaints regarding this - barely anything.
I filed my work dell laptop too. Very different feel, but it is nice not living in feel of your own stuff.
Since the edge has been filed away, the rubber seal on the screen would no longer presses against the edge of the body protecting the screen.
The edges are indeed extremely uncomfortable, not to mention how cold it is in winter.
Luckily its just sitting on a stand 99.9% of the time
This is a particularly hilarious customization both for its combined utility and shock value and also for doing it on a work computer.
I have a MacBook Pro Late 2013 and the top edges on the body are not sharp at all. They are already rounded down, with maybe 0.5 mm radius. It's very subtle. I find that the edges are rather pleasant to the touch.
The power to personalize should not be underestimated--even at the cost of durability and overall functionality.
It’s quite an annoying flaw, and i’ve only had this problem with the machines since the M1 redesign
The fact that any conscious human being has the time or energy to be "freaked out" about someone futzing around with their own devices is astounding to me.
People in a museum gasping at a child almost knocking an expensive vase off a pedestal, for comparison. Then walking in and damaging the vase deliberately while pretending that you don't understand what people are gasping about, to show off that $2000 is nothing to you.
Form only matters to a tool if function and usability are present, otherwise that object becomes more like art than a tool.
I also think you're an animal and need to be stopped before you do more damage to perfectly well designed machines.
A bit of 220 grit sandpaper and all the sharp edges are smooth and it actually looks pretty cool. I was grimacing at first but now I like the feel.
personally, having recently switched to one, the edges were a bother at first. but over the months grew to tolerate them just like callouses. opening the lid from the sides make me appreciate the need for a lip. however, i really hope they refine their approach for the rumored new model with better tooling and more comfortable.
Do you have a brand you'd recommend?
I was worried about scratches because I abuse the shit out of anything I wear, and sure enough, there are scratches in the titanium bezel, but they look good in a way that scratches on my (non-pro) steel Apple Watch did not.
Most Apple laptops, such as the latest Pro's, are level, rather than tapered, and sit flat so that the user-facing edge cuts into your wrists. It's bad ergonomics, plain and simple. If you value function over form enough to modify your tools in this way, choose better tools.
3 physical buttons below the touchpad. That removed really many laptops. They would be nearly zero today, or really zero.
15 inches screen. Common.
Matte finish. Common.
User serviceable hardware. That removed many other laptops.
No number pad. I had to give up on that or I would have no laptop to buy.
I ended up with the first generation HP ZBook 15.
Very minor "you can just do things" collides with the "infallible object" presence that Apple wants for its products - almost feels "wrong", but it's a nice norm to break.
(and I'm not a "Cult of Mac" guy)
Not sure if the Apple Silicon devices have the same issue - but it was consistent through at least 3 different generations.
There’s a sharp corner there is unnecessary.
Here's what it looked like freshly after filing fyi: https://kentwalters.com/posts/public/IMG_7438.jpeg
To my eye, it is like the patina that your favorite tools get.
I’m looking at you, 40 year old tape measure.
The channel’s Swiss host is famous for removing sharp edges from metal things.
Haha love it. Would love to see the IT guy's face handing that back in.
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F...
Unless you fly/train travel alot I guess.
The only time I ever use a Macbook as a proper laptop is during meetings, and even then it is brief - looking up materials or taking notes - not nearly enough time to encounter long-term strain in the wrists.
If you are working on a computer for 6+ hours a day professionally, you owe it to yourself to get a proper workstation setup. Hunching over a laptop for hours a day is terrible for your posture and health.
only the biggest POS tools have bad ergonomics on the industrial side. The real quality tools, the ones meant to be used on the factory floor or in a production line, think of human ergonomics first .
I would probably be considering that as I took a file to my laptop in order to keep it from cutting into my skin as I used it.
I applaud the ingenuity, but I detest the concept of aesthetic-first engineering without a thought for the human user of the thing. Vote with your dollar.
In the case of parent : I admire your ability to cope and the chutzpah it took to take a file to company property.
on a side note : I think it's absolutely fascinating in every Apple thread watching users trade tips on how to avoid electric shock, electrolytic/chemical pitting, and skin cuts like it's just normal computing worries. You folks have some thick skin to keep at it. I would be rubberizing the whole damn thing after the first zap.
And dont climb-cut
Damn good advice.
... it means the OPs job does not provide external monitors and proper keyboards :)
Preach.
Bet this person never heard about FAFO
I know people hate apple and I get it but like if you sign the pact with the devil you get many benefits from that ecosystem
Besides I can’t imagine going back to windows, I would have to use Linux. It wouldn’t be a tragedy alright but I am at the point where I like less customization and more the readiness and it just works aspect
I never found comfort in the endangered Linux ricing communities either that usually enriches the experience above just OS
I agree the edges _can_ be sharp, I have chosen to use a thin-plastic cover which also doubles as a sticker-holder. Also helps with the "bumps" and scratches...
Meanwhile a very important object called "Orion CM-003 Integrity" of the Artemis II mission is about to splash-down on Earth in 35 mins.
