Yeah the sharp edges have bothered me since they started with the unibody. Luckily I'm completely off Mac these days. But really the last mac I enjoyed using was my powerbook. It had really nice plastic gaskets for the edges, a keyboard with really good travel and cupped keys, it was wonderful.
I got a plastic MacBook eventually which I filed down too because the edges were really sharp there. And plastic is easy to file. Also replaced the screen with a matte version, on the plastic MacBook that was also easy because the screens were readily available and there was no glass overlay.
Then I had a unibody MBP 15" matte. Less sharp and with off factory matte display. Not great keyboard though.
The current MBP I find abhorrent. Even after they switched from the horrible butterfly mistake the travel is still way too shallow. I just can't work with that anymore. These days I just don't buy laptops anymore. Only desk PCs.
This is my number one complaint about the M-series MBP line. Especially true of the cutout in the middle that has points so sharp they can cut you if you accidentally scrape it with your hand.
Good to see a recognition that power tools are powerful. Too many amateur videos of people experimenting without nearly enough control and messing up projects
I strongly recommend against using a deburring tool on a Macbook. IMO OP has picked their tools with perfect consideration.
These tools are made to remove burrs resulting from machining processes. They are very useful for quick&dirty jobs on bore holes or rough edges where optics don't matter, but they lack the precision for sensitive work.
Anybody who's not very well versed in using a deburring tool is just about guaranteed to produce a terrible result that will only take longer to sand out than approching the task with files and sandpaper from the start.
I love the animation on the background of your website.
And I totally understand what you mean about using a tool, if it's too delicate to do the job, then it's not doing its job. Imagine buying a hammer and trying to keep it clear of scuffs, it's obviously going to impede your work.
Some tools do not work if you don’t treat them with utmost care (like an optical system that might need a clean room to work, or that gets damaged by a small bump, or whatever)
I was wondering why I don't get that animation. Turns out I turned on reduced motion in Windows 11, to get snappier UI and they actually set some accessibility tag correctly for the animation!
Great article and happy to see that I'm not alone. I don't get why on such a well thought-out and built device as this, the corners are so sharp.
From how I use the trackpad, the bottom of my thumb always feels sore-ish after a day's work and it took me a while to trace this to the sharp cornern of my macbook.
Maybe I drank the cool-aid, but I like the corners on my Mac, and it took a lot of empathy from me to accept “the other” authors filing job, but this looks beautiful.
Never knew that there are more people like me who get irked at such things. But yeah, I do not have the heart to do this to my laptop, so I end up using my laptop on a solid surface xD
On a similar note, people are way too precious about their dead-tree books. Feel free to chuck them in bags, make notes in the margins, fold pages, underline, and strike through text in them. It's yours. Make it yours! Your scribblings don't detract from what's in there – they elevate it to something unique.
(This is particularly true if it's a book that's still in print, or was in large enough print runs it's easy to buy another second-hand copy when the one you have falls apart. It's still somewhat true even when that's not the case.)
Nitpick: those are (sharp) edges, not corners. Maybe the next generation of MacBooks will also actually have exactly 90° non-rounded corners? I guess that's the next logical step...
Also, TIL that Bosch also makes files. I was under the impression that they only made powertools (or electronic measuring devices, or other things with a battery or power cord).
I hate the vents on my work macbook, when I rest it on my lap, the edges dig into my thighs and leave imprints. One time after getting in the flow, I didn't notice how it was cutting into my flesh and ended up with a bruise
I've been using Macs for decades and never had these issues personally. It seems like some people do literally rest their hands / arms on desk / notebook body while typing.
The "sharp edge syndrome" here to me seems to be a good thing then as it acts as a reminder for proper ergonomics / posture.
First Google AI search result on the topic:
"Never rest your wrists on your MacBook while typing. Instead, let your palms rest gently on the laptop body only when you pause. Hover your hands as you type. This prevents you from bending your wrists and protects the nerves in your carpal tunnel."
That also pretty much exactly mirrors the way we learned typing / posture at school in Austria.
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[ 4.2 ms ] story [ 83.4 ms ] threadI got a plastic MacBook eventually which I filed down too because the edges were really sharp there. And plastic is easy to file. Also replaced the screen with a matte version, on the plastic MacBook that was also easy because the screens were readily available and there was no glass overlay.
Then I had a unibody MBP 15" matte. Less sharp and with off factory matte display. Not great keyboard though.
The current MBP I find abhorrent. Even after they switched from the horrible butterfly mistake the travel is still way too shallow. I just can't work with that anymore. These days I just don't buy laptops anymore. Only desk PCs.
My 2015 MBP has this exact same issue.
https://www.andar.com/products/the-helm?variant=397924980491...
Pricey, but the lip covers the edge. My current one is 4 years old and lasted a couple of generations of Macbooks.
Amazon link to a debuting tool. It uses sharp harder metal to cut off sharp metal edges.
These tools are made to remove burrs resulting from machining processes. They are very useful for quick&dirty jobs on bore holes or rough edges where optics don't matter, but they lack the precision for sensitive work.
Anybody who's not very well versed in using a deburring tool is just about guaranteed to produce a terrible result that will only take longer to sand out than approching the task with files and sandpaper from the start.
That's just not the definition of the word "tool" at all but okay... whatever
If your primary concern is something looking pretty, it is no longer primarily a tool.
Probably loose wording as damage can mean break something or make it look less pretty. I think the intent is clear though.
What? You can damage even the most robust and simple tool by using it wrongly or inattentively.
and also put the code in a public repo for anyone to use https://github.com/brtmax/prime-flow-field
Some tools do not work if you don’t treat them with utmost care (like an optical system that might need a clean room to work, or that gets damaged by a small bump, or whatever)
From how I use the trackpad, the bottom of my thumb always feels sore-ish after a day's work and it took me a while to trace this to the sharp cornern of my macbook.
Thanks to both authors for sharing the work!
(This is particularly true if it's a book that's still in print, or was in large enough print runs it's easy to buy another second-hand copy when the one you have falls apart. It's still somewhat true even when that's not the case.)
Also, TIL that Bosch also makes files. I was under the impression that they only made powertools (or electronic measuring devices, or other things with a battery or power cord).
Depends who owns the patent for that.
I never thought about blogging about it though. Perhaps something to consider.
Next version: edge sharpness detectors. Or body resistance measurements.
The "sharp edge syndrome" here to me seems to be a good thing then as it acts as a reminder for proper ergonomics / posture.
First Google AI search result on the topic:
"Never rest your wrists on your MacBook while typing. Instead, let your palms rest gently on the laptop body only when you pause. Hover your hands as you type. This prevents you from bending your wrists and protects the nerves in your carpal tunnel."
That also pretty much exactly mirrors the way we learned typing / posture at school in Austria.