5 ms·

Why does every other laptop manufacturer include circuits to handle this use case, yet Apple has failed to do so for 24 years? Same deal with the lack of keybo

Why does every other laptop manufacturer include circuits to handle this use case, yet Apple has failed to do so for 24 years? Same deal with the lack of keyboard texturing on Macs, providing a flat surface for bacteria, oils and dirt to collect on your laptop's keyboard. Other manufacturers commonly add an anti-microbial texture to their keyboards, which also wards off most of the grease you see on Mac keyboards.

jefflinwood 9y ago
Point of reference here - I plugged in an old 2008 Macbook Pro with no battery (it had expanded, so I took it back to Apple for recycling), and it booted up fine from a Magsafe 1 charger. So I don't know if that's the case.
- StudentStuff 9y ago
  It was the case for me and @m_mueller apparently, my old MBP had one of those inflated batteries from heat likely, the only other device I've seen a battery puff up like that in is an old Blackberry. No bueno! Never seen significant puffage in the used/broken Li-Ion battery packs I've rebuilt either, so presumably that is moderately unique to Apple?
  - _jal 9y ago
    It is unique to the laws of physics in this universe. If you look around, you'll find video of exploding flashlights, and it wasn't Apple that recently had airlines forbidding you to bring their devices onto planes... So, that's drivers, batteries, and keyboard-coatings; what's next?
    - StudentStuff 9y ago
      Saving your email you used for iCloud to the UEFI in plain text and providing no way to wipe it? Could take a sledgehammer to it... Never said that battery failure was something that only occurred with Apple, just the way they fail (puffing up) was something that has happened to myself and two of my friends, meanwhile these 5+ year old battery packs from HPs and Dells that I've been pulling apart had a cell or two fail to retain a charge, but they don't significantly expand in size usually.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
      - marksomnian 9y ago
        > providing no way to wipe it sudo nvram -d fmm-mobileme-token-FMM
- _ix 9y ago
  Same here. That battery was pretty scary. Personally, I don't remember owning a battery removable Mac notebook between the PowerBook G4 to the MacBook Pro that couldn't function without a battery while plugged in.
  - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
    The Duo was the first, and not every powerbook after it copied this design. I think they might have pulled it out again for the G1 Air, but I'm not sure.
- pndmnm 9y ago
  I have a summer 2009 MBP whose battery failed in... 2013, I think. I removed the battery and have been running it off just the Magsafe adapter ever since (just as a low-power home server).
seanmcdirmid 9y ago
From time to time, Apple has cheated to make their laptops thinner by skipping a capacitor or two. This started with the PowerBook duo (the first ultralight, actually, Apple basically defined the modern laptop form back then), and they pull out this trick whenever they need it to fit in their design envelope (literally and figuratively). I'm sure other laptop manufacturers do also, you probably just never encountered any other ones. Clean your keyboard more regularly.
- StudentStuff 9y ago
  > Clean your keyboard more regularly. Just touching an Apple keyboard gives it a slight grease, despite regular cleaning. You don't get that on other keyboards, as they are textured slightly to prevent it.
  - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
    This isn't true; I've actually done some anecdotal AB testing on this. My wife cleans her Macbook keyboards regularly and it's always non-greasy to my touch, they always feel new. I on the other hand, am less diligent, and I can tell.
    - StudentStuff 9y ago
      Compare it to a Corsair keyboard or a Thinkpad keyboard, you can get that new feeling much longer in between cleaning. Additionally, your wife may have drier skin, meaning less or no grease.
      - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
        Except we both use the same computers, so I expect it goes beyond user just to habit.
      - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
        Also, the texture doesn't make the keyboard cleaner, it just makes it feel less greasy when dirty. That isn't considered a good thing to many people who are more likely to fit into Apple user demographics.

jefflinwood 9y ago

Point of reference here - I plugged in an old 2008 Macbook Pro with no battery (it had expanded, so I took it back to Apple for recycling), and it booted up fine from a Magsafe 1 charger. So I don't know if that's the case.

StudentStuff 9y ago
It was the case for me and @m_mueller apparently, my old MBP had one of those inflated batteries from heat likely, the only other device I've seen a battery puff up like that in is an old Blackberry. No bueno! Never seen significant puffage in the used/broken Li-Ion battery packs I've rebuilt either, so presumably that is moderately unique to Apple?
- _jal 9y ago
  It is unique to the laws of physics in this universe. If you look around, you'll find video of exploding flashlights, and it wasn't Apple that recently had airlines forbidding you to bring their devices onto planes... So, that's drivers, batteries, and keyboard-coatings; what's next?
  - StudentStuff 9y ago
    Saving your email you used for iCloud to the UEFI in plain text and providing no way to wipe it? Could take a sledgehammer to it... Never said that battery failure was something that only occurred with Apple, just the way they fail (puffing up) was something that has happened to myself and two of my friends, meanwhile these 5+ year old battery packs from HPs and Dells that I've been pulling apart had a cell or two fail to retain a charge, but they don't significantly expand in size usually.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - marksomnian 9y ago
      > providing no way to wipe it sudo nvram -d fmm-mobileme-token-FMM
_ix 9y ago
Same here. That battery was pretty scary. Personally, I don't remember owning a battery removable Mac notebook between the PowerBook G4 to the MacBook Pro that couldn't function without a battery while plugged in.
- seanmcdirmid 9y ago
  The Duo was the first, and not every powerbook after it copied this design. I think they might have pulled it out again for the G1 Air, but I'm not sure.
pndmnm 9y ago
I have a summer 2009 MBP whose battery failed in... 2013, I think. I removed the battery and have been running it off just the Magsafe adapter ever since (just as a low-power home server).

seanmcdirmid 9y ago

From time to time, Apple has cheated to make their laptops thinner by skipping a capacitor or two. This started with the PowerBook duo (the first ultralight, actually, Apple basically defined the modern laptop form back then), and they pull out this trick whenever they need it to fit in their design envelope (literally and figuratively). I'm sure other laptop manufacturers do also, you probably just never encountered any other ones. Clean your keyboard more regularly.

StudentStuff 9y ago
> Clean your keyboard more regularly. Just touching an Apple keyboard gives it a slight grease, despite regular cleaning. You don't get that on other keyboards, as they are textured slightly to prevent it.
- seanmcdirmid 9y ago
  This isn't true; I've actually done some anecdotal AB testing on this. My wife cleans her Macbook keyboards regularly and it's always non-greasy to my touch, they always feel new. I on the other hand, am less diligent, and I can tell.
  - StudentStuff 9y ago
    Compare it to a Corsair keyboard or a Thinkpad keyboard, you can get that new feeling much longer in between cleaning. Additionally, your wife may have drier skin, meaning less or no grease.
    - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
      Except we both use the same computers, so I expect it goes beyond user just to habit.
    - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
      Also, the texture doesn't make the keyboard cleaner, it just makes it feel less greasy when dirty. That isn't considered a good thing to many people who are more likely to fit into Apple user demographics.