question to all the people with white macbooks...

[Kevin1211]

Are the white macbooks infamous for picking up every little dirt on your fingers? Do the keypads and mousepad get stained?

 

[Kaido]

There are two types of "dirt": one is the famous staining problem, which turns the pads yellow. That is a manufacturing defect; you should send it back if that happens. The second is normal wear and tear. You have two good options here. Number one is to constantly clean it. The Mac rep at my local Apple Store said he uses a Magic Eraser (Mr. Clean, I believe) and Cholorox wipes. He said his white iBook still looks brand new. Option #2, put a protective pad on your wrist area. My two favorites are the InvisibleShield from ShieldZone and the pad from Marware. I have a YouTube video review of the Marware pad here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7DIbCf9DOI

I prefer the Marware pad over the InvisibleShield for a couple reasons. First, the Marware pad is comfy; the InvisibleShield is basically a heavy-duty tape that covers the wrist area and doesn't add any level of comfort. Second, the edges of the InvisibleShield tend to get kinda nasty over time. I had an InvisibleShield on my 13" white MacBook and it worked great, but I really like the Marware pad on my new 15" for those reasons.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

i use a bluetooth mouse so wear on the actual pad is minimal. for the keys i use one of those iskin covers, not so much because i'm afraid of staining, but to prevent dust and stuff from getting underneath the keys. for a wrist guard i use the radtech screen protector microfiber thingy folded in half. for cleaning i just use water and alcohol. my macbook looks brand new over a year of use.

 

[Looney]

The yellow staining problem was solved a long time ago. The pads were too porous, but they've replaced them since. I've had my Macbook for well over 6 months now, and no staining (the original started staining within weeks).

I don't use anything to protect my Macbook. And it still looks great. I occasionally clean it with a papertowel and water though (usually after eating).

 

[TheStu]

The Magic Erasers work wonders, I use them on my MacBook every month or so, and they make it look brand new. Since I replaced my stained palmrest, I have had no problems with staining, though I do now have a huge smear of adhesive from where I removed a palm rest cover (it was getting stained).

As far as the keys go... they get no dirtier than any other laptops that I have seen, and the trackpad develops that worn down shiny look to it after a few months, but that is because you are using it.

 

[redbeard1]

If you have a Mac Book that has a very stained top, and you still have Apple Care on it, you can get it warrantied.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I've had my C2D white MB for about 7 months and use it for hours every day. No staining whatsoever so far.

 

[YetioDoom]

Originally posted by: DonVito
I've had my C2D white MB for about 7 months and use it for hours every day. No staining whatsoever so far.

Same here.