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Filing the corners off my MacBooks

kentwalters.com

191–200 of 700 posts

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#191

I just did this to my MacBook not because of the sharp edge but because the pitting turns a sharp edge into a sawblade. Something about the grounding on on the frame when plugged in mixed with my sweaty hands leads to damage along this sharp edge on every MacBook I've ever owned. See https://www.reddit.com/r/macbook/s/hbyVh5SJhw for another poor soul with the same caustic skin

Oh wow I think I have a mild version of this.

Can it cause the plastic on the mouse to break down?

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment is concerning. > 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.

Aluminum should oxidize essentially instantly.

Anodizing and oxidation are 2 totally different things.

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#193
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Season

> A season is a division of the year[1] based on changes in weather…

I have no dog in this fight but a friendly reminder that temperature and weather are not synonymous.

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#194
post #137

Not all heroes wear capes. This is excellent and can't wait to get aluminium mac next to try it – don't think Space Black is a good way to go. Author's another post on "The Seasons are Wrong" [0] is excellent too and I fully support both approaches. [0] https://kentwalters.com/posts/seasons/

On the seasons front, traditionally in Ireland winter starts on Halloween (at sunset if you want to be really specific), and so you get winter is November till January, spring is February to April, summer is May to July and autumn is August to October. 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 m…

I find the "solstices/equinoxes mark starts of seasons" a bit foreign too, but… weather-wise, annual top and bottom temperatures are of course offset from the solstices due to thermal inertia.

In Finland the traditional division is that winter is Dec-Feb, spring is Mar-May, summer is Jun-Aug, and autumn is Sep-Nov. Historically it has made perfect sense, weather and climate wise – particularly from the point of view of agriculture, which is of course the reason people used to think about seasons in the first place!

February in particular is 100% winter in Finland with no signs of spring besides the days starting to get very noticeably longer by then. It's often the coldest month of the year and when schools usually have a week-long winter break. Similarly, August is very definitely a summer month except in the far north where spring comes late and autumn early. The academic year in schools and universities typically starts at the end of August, so that's a clear and important dividing line in many people's lifes. In Southern Finland, December is these days rather autumny more often than not, and there's often no lasting snow until January (if even then). June is a crapshoot, it can be nice and warm or surprisingly cold.

I guess Jan-Feb are definitely winter, Apr-May definitely spring, Jul-Aug definitely summer, and Oct-Nov definitely autumn. The rest are kind of transitional and their weather unpredictable. Of course, the climate change isn't helping things, either.

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alan Dye here. I'm coming back to Apple, and the next versions of the operating systems will not even have visible controls or icons. You just have to click on the beautiful, clear windows and hope you're interacting with the right UI elements.

Steve Ballmer here, DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS!

Cave Johnson here. I'll be honest, we're throwing science at the wall here to see what sticks. No idea what it'll do. Probably nothing. Best-case scenario, you might get some superpowers.

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#196

Lovely writing! And I think the understanding that one can and should modify their tools to their needs is rather rare and should be appreciated.

When I had a MacBook, I was quickly compelled to do something about the fact that its sharp edges scraped things, most notably scraping off the surface of my fingernails.

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.

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#197
post #191

I just did this to my MacBook not because of the sharp edge but because the pitting turns a sharp edge into a sawblade. Something about the grounding on on the frame when plugged in mixed with my sweaty hands leads to damage along this sharp edge on every MacBook I've ever owned. See https://www.reddit.com/r/macbook/s/hbyVh5SJhw for another poor soul with the same caustic skin

Oh wow I think I have a mild version of this. Can it cause the plastic on the mouse to break down?

Yes, it is fairly common with some plastics. better plastics won't but there are a lot of different plastics with differt formulas (and many can be mixed)

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment is concerning. > 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.

Aluminum should oxidize essentially instantly.

True; however, this is an aluminium alloy. These typically have lower corrosion resistance and are most commonly anodized because of it. The applied layer is typically 3 to 5x thicker than that formed by pure aluminium oxidization.

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#199
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm conflicted -- the author's rounded Mac looks more comfortable to use, but aesthetically it looks worse. He turned the track pad notch into an amorphous shape that looks like a mistake.

There's certainly a % of mac users who prioritize aesthetics over function. I feel like there's got to be a way to do this in a way that's more attractive though. Maybe something more gradual or even.

I wonder what Apple estimates this percentage to be given some of their design decisions.

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#200

I just did this to my MacBook not because of the sharp edge but because the pitting turns a sharp edge into a sawblade. Something about the grounding on on the frame when plugged in mixed with my sweaty hands leads to damage along this sharp edge on every MacBook I've ever owned. See https://www.reddit.com/r/macbook/s/hbyVh5SJhw for another poor soul with the same caustic skin

Oh is that why it happens? Was wondering why the spot directly under my wrist was pitted into a sawblade. I also filed it, though just enough to remove the pitting, nothing like the OP did.

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.

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