21 ms·
Filing the corners off my MacBooks
- tomjacobs 6mo agoyay
- Yhippa 6mo agoAs I'm typing on mine right now, I wonder why they made these so sharp. It hasn't cut me yet, but they are decidedly uncomfortable.
- gruez 6mo ago>I wonder why they made these so sharp So the seam looks neat when the macbook is closed, eg. https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/MacBook-Air-closed-hero-scaled.jpeg https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/MacBo...
- guelo 6mo agoForm over function
- tonyedgecombe 6mo agoYes although every time I open the lid with one hand I wonder why no other manufacturer seems to get their hinge friction so perfect.
- dghlsakjg 6mo agoMany/most of the other laptops I’ve taken apart have their hinges screwed into plastic, or worse, the hinges themselves are plastic too. This is a cost cutting measure and also limits the amount of tension since the plastic can’t take higher tension.
- kube-system 6mo agoProbably because it looks nice and crisp
- patsplat 6mo agoPhysical objects should be rounded, virtual windows should be square. I will die on this hill.
- porphyra 6mo ago> windows should be square 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)
- doubled112 6mo agoHaha, Windows had square windows long before 8. If I could run the Windows 2000 UI on a modern OS I would but any recent clone/theme/etc feels too uncanny valley.
- paulddraper 6mo agoNot having i3 is truly the worst part about Macs. (Yes, please tell me about some buggy half-compatible tiling window manager for my Mac.)
- porphyra 6mo agoFor real. Doesn't help that the three/four finger swipe between full screen windows/workspaces has a mandatory animation that you can't disable (you can turn on "reduce motion", but it simply changes the scrolling animation into an equally time-wasting fading animation).
- bee_rider 6mo agoSurely MacOS has some nice virtual machine that you could run Linux in?
- lostlogin 6mo agoUTM.
- 6mo ago
- glitchc 6mo agoDid the same for my Macbook Pro 15 unibody circa 2010. It was a great QoL improvement.
- abujazar 6mo agoYea, that's ugly. I'm sure it could've been done more gracefully with 15 minutes more effort. But judging from the general wear and tear on this poor Mac I guess they don't even consider the resale value.
- windowsrookie 6mo agoSeriously, I have several mac laptops dating back to 2004 and they all have less wear than that.
- bee_rider 6mo agoI think he is not worried about the resale value. > 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.
- hk1337 6mo agoThe main reason to consider resale value is 1-2 years later you may want to upgrade and selling it to another person typically yields you more money than trading it in with Apple. Doing something like this may decrease how much you could sell it for later. If you’re not planning on doing that then it’s not really a factor for you.
- dazilcher 6mo ago> work computer
- kibwen 6mo agoI can't even imagine prioritizing resale value here over one's own comfort. The purpose of a tool is to be used, not to serve as an asset class.
- abujazar 6mo agoSure, but comfort != abuse :D Apart from the filing, I can't think of ways to make such a recent Mac look like this. Did it suffer a plane crash? Acid attack? Thermite fire? I appreciate the customization, but would probably make an effort to make it not look like (another) accident.
- bloody-crow 6mo agoDoing this to a work computer seem a bit questionable from the ethical standpoint. Totally fine to do whatever you want to your personal belongings though.
- Loughla 6mo agoMy work computer is missing two keys and has been since they signed it out to me. 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.
- chatmasta 6mo agoI promise you they’re claiming taxes on the depreciation of that machine every year. If anything they’ll be upset you didn’t tell them sooner so they could have claimed more.
- jerlam 6mo agoIf you're a US employee being paid market wages, the cost of the Macbook is rather trivial compared to how much you cost the company, and how much it costs them for you to be not working. But some lower-level managers and employees don't seem to understand this.
- topato 6mo ago“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF THE PRICE FOR THE PARTS AND LABOR TO REPLACE A SINGLE, GENUINE, APPLE-BRAND, 2021, MACBOOK PRO KEYCAP?!?! CALL THE ACCOUNTANTS, WE WONT BE PAYING TAXES FOR A FEW YEARS!!!”
- danans 6mo ago> Doing this to a work computer seem a bit questionable from the ethical standpoint. "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.
- supliminal 6mo ago> Don't be scared. Fuck around a bit. Preach.
- loloquwowndueo 6mo ago> Don't be scared. Fuck around a bit. Bet this person never heard about FAFO
- deleted 6mo ago[deleted]
- kvuj 6mo agoMaybe I'm autistic, but I loooove the sharp edges near the opening. They've become almost a nervous tick of playing with them with my fingers. I've got no idea why, but the sharp feeling is amazing.
- normanvalentine 6mo agoI actually agree with this too — playing with the sharp edge is kind of satisfying. Like having something in your teeth that you're working on.
- neom 6mo agoI am autistic and I also enjoy the sharp edges, I rub my wrists up and down them sometimes and generally play with them, I find it very satisfying. I also suspect the laptop might not be as easy to carry around when open if edges were rounded?
- 0xDEFACED 6mo agothis can't be how i find out...
- LoganDark 6mo ago[flagged]
- shermantanktop 6mo agoIs there a DSM5 category for "diagnosing people on the internet"?
- kube-system 6mo agoSomebody should offer a service to chuck up Macbooks in a CNC mill and hit them with a chamfer tool
- mjamesaustin 6mo agoI'm not brave enough to try this on my own, but I applaud the effort. I'm pretty sure I'm developing lasting calluses on the underside of my wrists from all the constant rubbing against the sharp edge of my MBP.
- michael1999 6mo agoThe sharp points by the track-pad are bad design. Ive made some terrible decisions when he wanted to show off.
- denimnerd42 6mo agoI hate those sharp edges. I've contemplated taking a router with a carbide roundover to mine many times.
- michaelcampbell 6mo agoI just asked an LLM this exact question; it said "sure, but use cutting fluid, ensure the bit is carbide, slow the router speed down to 10-16k rpm, go slow, and clean off the flutes if they get gummed" And dont climb-cut
- denimnerd42 6mo agoyeah. gonna be a huge mess so I havent
- adastra22 6mo agoI just put a plastic case on my MacBook…
- krackers 6mo agoThere's a more thorough version of this at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSaJAAqSAMw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSaJAAqSAMw and the end-result doesn't look as tacky
- convolvatron 6mo agoif you want to do this, there is a better technique than shown in this video. 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.
- vl 6mo agoOr get a Dremel.
- mvdtnz 6mo agoThere's absolutely no way you get a good result with a Dremel.
- simonbw 6mo agoI've been thinking of just using sandpaper stuck to a block of wood, though I imagine that might be slower. Heck, a little part of me is tempted to try the smallest radius round-over router bit I have in a trim router, but the odds of that going horribly wrong are just way too high.
- powvans 6mo agoNitpicky, but he’s rounding the edges, not the corners. 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.
- forrestthewoods 6mo agowhy? Because Apple hates you and wants you to suffer. Alternatively, because they care about aesthetics more than utility and comfort.
- alanbernstein 6mo agoThe most material is removed at the corners of the lid-lifting notch. Those are IMO the most offensive pointy part on the body.
- varispeed 6mo ago> Very very pointy. I have intrusive thoughts of trying to cut my finger over it, but so far the attempts were unsuccesful.
- LtWorf 6mo agoI don't think apple computers are meant for people who do use computers. I used to have marks on my wrists (I no longer have an apple computer now).
- nine_k 6mo agoApple computers are made for those who purchases a computer. They are engineered to look great on a demo shelf. «During the first Jobsian era at Apple, I used to joke that Steve Jobs cared deeply about Apple customers from the moment they first considered purchasing an Apple computer right up until the time their check cleared the bank.» (Bruce Tognazzini)
- LASR 6mo ago
- bilalbayram 6mo agoI hate this But I also understand Still I hate this
- loloquwowndueo 6mo agoAs a bonus the machine looks like crap so it’s far less likely to get stolen.
- margalabargala 6mo agoI think it looks nice. Though you're right that machines whose exteriors are customized and unusual are less likely to get stolen.
- sharkjacobs 6mo agoI don't want to do the whole front edge but this has definitely inspired me to take a file to these notch corners
- teaearlgraycold 6mo agoThis seems like a reasonable choice, but man you really need to do this with a CNC mill. The craftsmanship is not there.
- chuckadams 6mo agoThat's like telling a punk to use a proper sewing machine for their jacket patches.
- normanvalentine 6mo ago(author) If anyone around the Bay wants to let me use their CNC mill please reach out! I have lots of things to chamfer. Here's what it looked like freshly after filing fyi: https://kentwalters.com/posts/public/IMG_7438.jpeg https://kentwalters.com/posts/public/IMG_7438.jpeg
- jwlake 6mo agoWhats it look like closed?
- normanvalentine 6mo agoA bit tough to photograph: https://kentwalters.com/posts/public/IMG_0828.jpeg https://kentwalters.com/posts/public/IMG_0828.jpeg https://kentwalters.com/posts/public/IMG_0829.jpeg https://kentwalters.com/posts/public/IMG_0829.jpeg
- teaearlgraycold 6mo agoThere is a Makera Carvera Air you can use at Noisebridge (272 Capp St in San Francisco). It even has the 4th axis addon. Please donate if you use it!
- andreybaskov 6mo agoFinally, now I know I'm not the only one! These sharp edges constantly cut into my wrists to the point I was thinking of doing the same, or glueing some kind of kind soft padding to the edges. Great someone did it. I wonder how far can you cut them?
- ribosometronome 6mo ago>it is uncomfortable on my wrists 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.
- _virtu 6mo agoI came here thinking that there would be more comments discussing this. This seems like the wrong direction to go for fixing the comfort problem. Tilting your wrists down like that is not proper typing posture.
- proee 6mo agoThe Apple Watch Ultra also has an aggressively sharp screen edge. It's kept me from upgrading from my current watch (Model 8). But maybe I would get use to it?
- gensym 6mo agoThe side that faces your wrist is rounded - only the face is sharp. I haven't noticed any issues with the edge wearing the thing. 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.
- dwg 6mo agoWish I had the courage to do this too.
- html5cat 6mo agoNot 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/ https://kentwalters.com/posts/seasons/
- mitthrowaway2 6mo agoThere's a significant lag between the longer days and the resulting higher temperatures though, which does make the seasons make more sense temperature-wise.
- kokanee 6mo agoThe seasons idea is interesting -- to me, both proposals feel wrong. I think it's because the weather changes that I perceive seem to lag behind the changes to daylight length by a few weeks. 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.
- Tyr42 6mo agoI second this proposal. Three weeks shift can feel about right. But we lost a lot of nice symmetries that way, which is unfortunate
- Izkata 6mo agoSunrise and sunset don't shift at the same time, and December 1 is right about where sunset approaches it's earliest time (where I am it's 4:19, vs the earliest at 4:18 on Dec 8) Summer doesn't work with that association though, with the latest sunset being the end of June instead of the start.
- html5cat 6mo agofunny how this is actually the default for me having grown up in Ukraine. probably same for other post-soviet countries too?
- sitzkrieg 6mo agoanything but admitting the design is bad and frivolous
- nickvec 6mo ago> This was on my work computer. 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.
- lostlogin 6mo ago‘I’ve done a lot of work and it wore down’
- levocardia 6mo agoHonestly that was the cherry on top for me -- the employee confident enough to just decide "this is my work computer, I need it to do work, I can't do work with my hands being irritated, so I will sand down the edge." Pure gold.
- deleted 6mo ago[deleted]
- nickpinkston 6mo agoIt was oddly satisfying taking a file to my MacBook when a drop lifted a nasty burr on the edge. 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)
- jcgrillo 6mo agoyou can just do things: https://ebay.us/m/vWMAUU https://ebay.us/m/vWMAUU
- rmccue 6mo agoOn one of my old MacBook Pros, I managed to do this naturally through friction from my wrist moving back and forth on the keyboard for years; good idea to get ahead of it.
- Retr0id 6mo agoI'm very tempted to try this although I worry that the rubber "seal" around the edges of the screen will no longer have anything to butt up against, meaning there's glass-on-metal contact when it's closed?
- Retr0id 6mo agoOk I did it, but to a lesser extent to OP, so it definitely doesn't affect the seal. Even a small radius makes a big difference to comfort!
- phamilton 6mo agoI dropped my MBA on concrete and the edges got dinged up and sharp. 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.
- zephen 6mo agoToo many MBAs, not enough concrete.
- whalesalad 6mo agoI would remove material from the outside edges of the front, not the center near the trackpad. The blue edges of my M2 air have already become silver and the palm rests have become more silver and glossy like glass from wear. I'm probably going to do something like this.
- tmd83 6mo agoAt one point due to the way I was using my just above my wrist my skin basically calloused from the edge of the macbook. Now at least the lid is not that sharp but it used to be I recall and I always worried about kids getting hit by it in case of an accident.
- tiborsaas 6mo agoSavage.
- starkeeper 6mo agoA hero post. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to shave using the edge of iPhone Air 20 or whatever they are coming up with. iPhone Stiletto.
- rvz 6mo agoOne of the many first world problems of this century. /s 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.
- orliesaurus 6mo agoYou don't dock your MacBook for long sesh?
- smlacy 6mo agoIs it me or is that aluminum already developing some stress cracking?
- bredren 6mo agoIt’s not just the edge but the corners where the finger accommodation is for opening the lid. There’s a sharp corner there is unnecessary.
- jbverschoor 6mo agoThe sharp and high edges leave a mark in my skin. The older MacBook Air design was lower, so resting your palms wouldn’t give me this
- ghshephard 6mo agoAnother thing that multiple generation of MacBook Airs used to do is constantly be running (sometimes quite painful) amounts of electricity through your wrists if they accidentally touched the metal. Not sure if the Apple Silicon devices have the same issue - but it was consistent through at least 3 different generations.
- LtWorf 6mo agoI remember, at university we had rows of metal chairs and one single person with a macbook could occasionally electrocute multiple people.
- Topfi 6mo agoI thought this was going to be on a softwarefix for the appalling inconsistency that are macOS Tahoe window corners. What I found deeply disturbed me, though I must agree, the edges are a bit more sharp then I'd like and a slight curvature could probably prevent them showing wear and tear [0]. Good on op for doing something they like, even if it's really out there and I could see more "pillowy" hardware becoming a thing now, after a few years of sharp edged devices. Since I mentioned Tahoe, it bears repeating, my spotlight is still broken. [0] https://ljpuk.net/2025/05/23/how-does-the-space-black-macbook-pro-hold-up-over-time/ https://ljpuk.net/2025/05/23/how-does-the-space-black-macboo...
- vvpan 6mo agoI just came into Mac world for work and struggle to understand the choices Apple makes: - 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.
- chihuahua 6mo agoI, too, only use Macs when my employer forces me to do so. Here's how I made it bearable: MacBook lid stays closed at all times; plug it into a Thunderbolt hub (requires just 1 Thunderbolt port for everything); connect a proper matte monitor, external keyboard, Logitech mouse. 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.
- pxc 6mo ago> weird keyboard mappings for things like "start of line", "end of line", "previous word" Those are Emacs keybindings, and they're also present by default in Bash since they were copied by GNU Readline. They're one of the few things I really like about macOS. (But I'm an Emacs user and I'm also used to using them in my terminal.) The window manager never stops sucking. Rectangle and Contexts or Witch help. Ice helps with the stupid menu bar design and problems with overflowing icons or oversized menus.
- randomeel 6mo agoFor window manager try rectangle or aerospace
- stephbook 6mo agoDo you still have to install third-party software to keep it running when you close the lid? Does it still not support "Windows Hello" style face unlock when closed? I remember I couldn't touch the fingerprint sensor when closed and the MacBook was unable to use my Windows Hello camera.
- culi 6mo agoI too find the sharp corners incredibly uncomfortable for my weak sensitive baby wrists but I chose to overcome this by wearing a wrist band. Two very different approaches
- eaurouge 6mo agoYeah, I wear a wrist band as well. I've used these (https://www.vivehealth.com/products/wrist-support https://www.vivehealth.com/products/wrist-support) for some years now but they've since changed the material to something with less give. Do you have a brand you'd recommend?
- culi 6mo agoNot really. My almost favorite solution was to get gloves with touchscreen finger tips but I couldn't find a good one that has the touchscreen material go all around the tips which makes certain touchpad gestures annoying to do. Any wrist band has been "good enough" for me so far though
- GraceParkNYC 6mo agoSharp edges and an axehead-like profile wear down the bottom of the laptop sleeve in my office-commuter hand luggage. Solved by putting my old MacBook Air in a neoprene pocket case before putting the whole thing, now with the double-thickness :-( p into my sachel.
- anArbitraryOne 6mo agoIf only they'd round the edges/corners of the body instead of the screen and the UI
- retired_account 6mo agoMaybe it's because I type like one would play the piano (with hands curved, fingers well below the palms), but I've never ran into an issue like this with a laptop before, wrists always clear the edges by a couple inches. All the same, hell yeah.
- jcgrillo 6mo agoIf instead you sharpen the corners it's a security mechanism.
- BenFranklin100 6mo agoI dealt with sharp edges issue by investing in an Andar leather case. Works just as well. https://www.andar.com/products/the-helm https://www.andar.com/products/the-helm
- Nursie 6mo agoIt’s interesting to me that this makes it look old. Even slightly retro. Makes me think of early 2010s ultrabooks.
- ProAm 6mo agoApple users always convincing themselves they are still using the best premium most thought after designs of all time.
- RShackleford 6mo ago[dead]
- baud9600 6mo agoBrilliant. Love the tech-disrespect and the “right to repair”!
- jasonjmcghee 6mo agoDepending on how I'm using the computer, I may definitely have deep marks after working laying down, but if I sit in a wood chair for a while it's the same thing- and my forearm is much tougher than behind my knee. 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
- deleted 6mo ago[deleted]
- mememememememo 6mo agoExternal keyboard and mouse too easy? Unless you fly/train travel alot I guess.
- cwicklein 6mo agoSitting in a reclined position on the train, I’ve had a MacBook fly into my face when the car lurched and slice my nose open. Bled all over.
- yreg 6mo agoThe takeaway from this article should be to consider modifying your tools to your needs even in unconventional and controversial ways. I love it. The flame war on whether the original chassis design sucks or rocks is not that interesting.
- Steltek 6mo agoThis is why I like cheaper tools. Yes, that means cheaper quality but it's far easier to approach taking a dremel to it. And the DIY look usually matches the stock materials better anyway.
- tcdent 6mo agoNah, taking the risk is even more fun when the thing you're modifying holds more value. Chopping the fenders on a Porsche 911 to install a widebody kit does not have the same weight as rolling the seams on an Jeep Cherokee.
- seizethecheese 6mo agoAll things being equal, sure, but I personally am way more likely to mod the Cherokee than the Porsche
- dotancohen 6mo agoI'd say it's an even split. Half the Jeeps on the road and on the trails are modified. On the road maybe 1/10 of Porches are modified, but on the track 90% are. Big difference between bolt-ons vs deeper mods too.
- rpcope1 6mo agoGo to any mechanic thats been doing cars, especially if it's a focused subset of cars, for more than a few year and I guarantee they'll either have some modified HF sockets or wrenches or some home made tools. Probably don't want to cut up your SnapOff debt peonage tools, but a lot of the time they alone don't cut it.
- 420official 6mo agoI 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 https://www.reddit.com/r/macbook/s/hbyVh5SJhw for another poor soul with the same caustic skin
- al_borland 6mo agoThis 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.
- compass_copium 6mo agoAluminum should oxidize essentially instantly.
- lukevp 6mo agoAnodizing and oxidation are 2 totally different things.
- Brian_K_White 6mo agoanodizing is literally oxidizing
- nikisweeting 6mo agoYes but anodization implies thickness around ~5–25 micrometers (µm) for aluminum. The natural oxide coating is ~2-5 nanometers (1,000–5,000× less thick).
- themafia 6mo agoTrue; 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.
- aculver 6mo agoLove this! I did this in 2020 and until today I hadn't seen anyone else who had done it. If anyone is tempted, I recommend finishing the job with Micro-Mesh. IIRC, I went up to 12,000 grit and it results in a nicely polished look that catches the light beautifully.[1] I bet it would look even more striking on the actual black MacBooks we have today. [1] https://x.com/andrewculver/status/1297575768520716288/photo/2 https://x.com/andrewculver/status/1297575768520716288/photo/...
- TSiege 6mo agoBlack macbooks are anodized aluminum which are thin coatings that would be removed when filing. It might look cool but it’d be the silvery color of raw aluminum
- stevenpetryk 6mo agoworth noting that silver macbooks are also anodized aluminum, so you'll also be filing off anodization
- aculver 6mo agoYes, exactly. The point I was trying to make is that with a black finish, exposing the original color of the aluminum would be even more striking.
- saagarjha 6mo agoI feel like this is only a problem if you’re keeping your wrists at an unergonomic angle. I’m not saying that everyone is perfect all the time but like this is barely an issue if you’re sitting at your desk?
- maest 6mo agoLaptops are used in so many more situations than just sitting at a desk. Literally "you're holding it wrong".
- saagarjha 6mo agoMost of those are wrong, yes
- lapcat 6mo ago> I’m not saying that everyone is perfect all the time but like this is barely an issue if you’re sitting at your desk? It's a laptop computer.
- davidbjaffe 6mo agoYes. I keep mine on my lap. My regimen is that I wake up at 3am and lie on the couch for several hours with coffee and write code (or these days, ask "someone else" to). It is highly productive and enjoyable and breaks all the rules and no I do not have RSI. Long ago I started sandpapering the edges because yeah otherwise it hurts my wrists.
- pxc 6mo agoIt's a good move. I have a case on my MBP that helps with this because it means the edges are plastic for me, and not quite so sharp. If you want to break more rules, you might consider chickenwing-ing your arms a bit. Deviate from the homerow and learn to feel your way around at other angles. Then you can hold the laptop closer to you without putting your wrists at a weird angle (though you may have to use a non-thumb finger for spacebar, as I do). As I type this, my laptop is partly on my belly and partly on my chest, and my wrists are so far out to the sides that they completely miss the front edge of the laptop altogether. The angle is pretty favorable, too: my palms rest on the laptop on either side of the trackpad, and my wrists rest over the left and right sides of the bottom case but have little to no pressure on them. No RSI here, either. Just make sure you're loose and comfortable and not forcing anything! That seems to help a lot.
- maest 6mo agoI'm now painfully aware of how uncomfortable the edge of my mac is.
- nateburke 6mo agoI did this at my last job, it's nice.
- jasonidol 6mo agoOne concern with doing this would be when you pack it in a bag and the screen would now flex more than usual, leading to excessive wear of the anti-reflective coating on these screens. 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.
- ed_mercer 6mo agoGoodbye resale value
- sbaildon 6mo agoThe author has the same problem as myself; there’s a permanent imprint on the screen that sits right where the screen makes contact with the topside of the touchpad. It’s quite an annoying flaw, and i’ve only had this problem with the machines since the M1 redesign
- inatreecrown2 6mo agoLovely writing! And I think the understanding that one can and should modify their tools to their needs is rather rare and should be appreciated.
- thaumasiotes 6mo agoWhen 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-series 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.
- simonbw 6mo agoI have thought about filing/sanding my MacBook forever and getting a case to solve the problem never even occurred to me. I feel a little silly now because it does seem obvious, but also to me just filing it down sounds like less work than picking out a case.
- kzrdude 6mo agoPresumably the understanding on the forum is greater when it comes to software tools. And I would usually say: don't be your computer's tool! :)
- tonyedgecombe 6mo agoWhen it comes to software I've moved in the opposite direction. I want to customise my system as little as possible.
- a456463 6mo agostay ready to have my toolbox change under my feet at the whims of clown PM and bean counters somewhere. wcgw
- j45 6mo agoLove it, this is the ultimate laptop sticker.
- thegdsks 6mo agoNot seriously... I too love the sharp edges but this is scary.. Lol
- noman-land 6mo agoEveryone should be personalizing their belongings to suit their needs and desires. Living with belongings that make you feel anything less than happy and satisfied is NOT necessary. This is a particularly hilarious customization both for its combined utility and shock value and also for doing it on a work computer.
- pugworthy 6mo agoFans of My Mechanics on YouTube will chuckle at this. The channel’s Swiss host is famous for removing sharp edges from metal things.
- culopatin 6mo agoA very even 45 degree cut, like the cut to lift the screen but much shallower would look pretty cool. Maybe 2mm wide
- fragmede 6mo agoOMFG I am so glad to hear I am not the only one! The stupid thing hurt my wrists on the white Macbook generation so I shaved it off so it wasn't so sharp.
- octagons 6mo ago> Don't be scared. Fuck around a bit. Damn good advice.
- dvt 6mo agoMaybe it's just me, but I think it looks kind of cool. I like how it tapers from the ultra-smooth front to the jagged back edges. Only suggestion would be to use better tools to do the filing, since it looks a bit uneven/rough.
- philsnow 6mo agoThe clearest demonstration that the knife edge is dumb is that there isn't a similar sharp edge around the exterior.
- tclancy 6mo agoTakes a real bastard to do this.
- pointpth 6mo ago…file.
- canbus 6mo agoMaybe it’s the lighting, but that doesn’t look even on both sides to me - that’d bother me more than the sharpness.
- owenthejumper 6mo agoDid this too. Absolutely ridiculous I had to :(
- jasoneckert 6mo agoThanks for this interesting post - I've been showing it to co-workers to get their reactions, which was incredibly entertaining for me! 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!"
- overtone1000 6mo agoCo-worker 4 is the one I want to have a beer with.
- block_dagger 6mo agoI have just the opposite reaction.
- nemosaltat 6mo ago[flagged]
- skavi 6mo agoi’ll take 3. we can be boring together
- bombcar 6mo agoOne of the ATPers was going on and on a bit ago about how the Neo is very "rounded" and "not sharp" compared to the Pro. I wonder if it would need this.
- throwanem 6mo agoNot so great for the black ones, but that's okay. It shows honest wear, including from my watch strap's steel buckle, and the sharp pressure is a good reminder to improve my typing posture and protect my aging wrists.
- ebrewste 6mo agoLove that he took it so far. I filed mine a while back - it’s so much more comfortable to use. When I drop it and a corner get mashed, I file that back flat. It reminds me of kintsugi where it shines from the fine filing. I filed my work dell laptop too. Very different feel, but it is nice not living in feel of your own stuff.
- bmitc 6mo agoI have never understood how Jony Ive is highly regarded as a designer when he put not only sharp, aluminum edges but sharp aluminum corners exactly where your body spends almost all the time for continuous contact with the device. 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.
- barrkel 6mo agoI've done this to my MacBook around the sharp and unpleasant corners near the touchpad. I had the laptop a few weeks before I couldn't take how unpleasant it was to touch any more.
- asciimov 6mo agoWould be cool if somebody would make a round over or chamfer plane that would allow you to remove the corner with a higher finished look.
- tlb 6mo agoCool, but why is the most rounded-off part in the center? My wrists cover the edge at 5-25% and 75-95% when typing. When mousing, my right hand fleshy pad covers the edge at 65-80%.
- sillysaurusx 6mo agoI think because they had to. The rounded-off center part is actually the part you usually stick your finger into to lift up the lid. So it wasn't done for wrist ergonomics, but rather because it would've otherwise been sharp. The result is a big hole in the center. It looks a bit strange, but to each their own, I suppose. EDIT: this thing, below the trackpad https://imgur.com/a/DVzlDOj https://imgur.com/a/DVzlDOj (What’s that even called? And is there a better image hosting service than Imgur?)
- eviks 6mo agoOne way to equalize the form > function equation!
- woeirua 6mo agoThis is the spicy content I come here to read. I wouldn’t do it myself but god speed to anyone who does.
- ayaros 6mo agoTruly the most horrifying post on HN I've seen in quite a while
- mvdtnz 6mo agoIf my work computer were my own I would do this in a second. The MacBook pro is ridiculously uncomfortable, both in terms of geometry and heat. I don't mind when it gets warm but on a cold morning it's just downright unpleasant to get working on it.
- simonbw 6mo agoI've been meaning to do this forever and think this game me the push I've needed to do it tonight when I get home. Probably not as rounded as OP, but it's reassuring to know I could go that rounded and it wouldn't fall apart.
- voidhorse 6mo ago> I file the sharp corners off my MacBooks. People like to freak out about this 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.
- jodrellblank 6mo agoIt's a certain kind of tasteless to take a thing which most people consider a very expensive luxury, and show off how little it means to you and how casually you damage it. 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.
- userbinator 6mo agoI first encountered this in-person on a Mac Mini many years ago, which to be fair is not meant to be touched all the time, but it was still slightly repulsive. It has a surprising weight and uncomfortable sensation like picking up a freshly-cut block of metal. Then I realised Apple did the same with their laptops which are meant to be touched. They do have rounded corners, but not on the axes where the roundedness is useful. In contrast, Thinkpads look sharp-edged with square corners but are actually confortable to hold.
- hommelix 6mo agoOlder Thinkpad were made without the sharp edge. I love the edge on the X230 and I've been wondering why no designer has taken a look at these to make new laptop. https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%2Fid%2FOIP.ELvBolnwi5zJP7EDRGQy5QHaED%3Fpid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=960dc3ad2b83667a35164344d7dca54dfdba0613a36b95a03604efcf8f482637&ipo=images https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F...
- sandreas 6mo agoI wonder if it would be possible to sand down a MacBook surface to the grade where it was all shiny mirror like the Apple logo, e.g. with car polish :-) The "untouchable" MacBook mirror :-)
- refurb 6mo agoI did something similar with drawer handles. I was living in a place with cheap furniture and the handles were aluminum billet cut to length and tapped so it could be screwed to the drawer face. The edge on either side were crazy sharp. If you bumped it with your knee you'd easily cut the skin. 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.
- lofaszvanitt 6mo agoI did this when my old 2011 Air dropped the fiftieth time and the sides showed some pitting. The aluminium body is a godsend.
- serf 6mo agoon the tool analogy : 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.
- anant_who 6mo agoThis is very interesting Maybe I'll do this when my mac is a couple years old haha
- wraptile 6mo agoI used a macbook for almost 2 years and genuinely don't understand how people can tolerate these machines. My wrists would be cut up all the time to the point where I looked like I was self harming myself and the glary screen is entirely unsuable anywhere but a darkest basement. Not to mention the terrible keyboard. To this day I'm perplexed how macbooks have such high desirability by full time developers when they're almost unusable.
- ekianjo 6mo ago[flagged]
- boxed 6mo agoOr that it's a unix with taste that can render fonts correctly and has UI APIs that aren't absolute trash. I'm pretty sure Apple doesn't pay any "influencers", but maybe they're doing the Mormon church thing and buying ads?
- ben-schaaf 6mo ago> can render fonts correctly macOS font rendering has been worst in class since they removed subpixel-antialiasing. It's now a blurry mess on regular displays.
- swiftcoder 6mo agoGood thing MacBooks don't ship with regular displays then. FWIW, I've had no trouble with Mac font rendering on bog standard 1440p and 4K external displays
- boxed 6mo agoI run a non-retina 30" Apple Cinema Display right now. There are some blurry text bugs, but that's super rare and I think has to do with me having a mix of non-retina and retina displays hooked up. But imo the rendering is still pretty good. Unlike on linux where I constantly see incorrect kerning.
- evanjrowley 6mo agoI use a case on my MacBooks to protect them from damage. These cases are made of softer materials that are easier to chamfer. I make a similar modification when necessary. Sometimes it's worse with the plastic cases because the injection mold seam is that sharp edge.
- dec0dedab0de 6mo agoI did this on the macs at an old job, but not as drastic. It really doesn’t need much to ..ahem… take the edge off.
- PufPufPuf 6mo agoToo bad my Mac is company owned, maybe I'd use it in a "laptop mode" more if it didn't slit wrists.
- estetlinus 6mo agoMac users since 2010. Never noticed the sharp edges. I am just keen on not having that little red ball in the middle of the keyboard á la Elitebook.
- RadiozRadioz 6mo agoGive the TrackPoint a go. If you configure the sensitivity and acceleration properly, it can be an extremely productive way to move the mouse.
- beloch 6mo agoThere are plenty of laptops out there that have square edges on the user-facing edge. However, most are tapered and/or have hinge designs that tilt the laptop surface towards the user, dropping that square edge away from the user's wrists. 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.
- pmontra 6mo agoChoosing tools is not easy. Last time I bought a laptop was 2014. My goal was running Linux. My other requirements were, in order of importance, without explanation: 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.
- mkagenius 6mo agoNot just sides, the vents are much sharper. Few years back, I tried to look on reddit for complaints regarding this - barely anything.
- 4mitkumar 6mo agoEarly Saturday morning and what a simple, to-the-point read about irreverence :D Gave me my new maxim - "Fuck about a bit" Created a poster out of it :D https://nextfive.xyz/bits/2026/04/11/fuck-around-a-bit.html https://nextfive.xyz/bits/2026/04/11/fuck-around-a-bit.html
- deleted 6mo ago[deleted]
- DannyBee 6mo agoProbably don't do this if you have a magnesium-aluminum alloy laptop. 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.
- swiftcoder 6mo agoDefinitely didn't expect this to be about literally filing the corners off. Bravo! I think it looks pretty great, not sure I'd do it to one of mine
- ardline 6mo agoThis reminds me of a problem we hit at work. Ended up going a different direction but same root issue.
- mr-pink 6mo agoi think its fine but why do such a shitty job
- nottorp 6mo agoWell, this can be read as a nice hack or ... ... it means the OPs job does not provide external monitors and proper keyboards :)
- egeozcan 6mo agoSome people visit customers, work on the go, work in a cafe, etc. That's the point of getting a laptop, no?
- Flavius 6mo agoI can't downvote you enough for this comment, but hopefully others will. You're arguing that a device designed for portability is perfect as it is because you're supposed to use external monitors and proper keyboards. This is peak HN/Reddit/"current society", whatever you want to call it.
- nottorp 6mo agoI'm arguing that using a laptop without dedicated input and display peripherals if you can avoid it is a bit of masochism and filing off the corners won't fix it.
- taneq 6mo agoI’m now wondering how difficult it would be to polish one to a mirror finish.
- camillomiller 6mo agoLooks terrible, I love it
- maximg68 6mo agoWhen I was actively using my Macbook 2014, I did the same, though to lesser extent and in a uniform way. The edge was way too sharp.
- willtemperley 6mo agoYes the front edge is too sharp for me too, more on the middle right where I rest my hand. It hurts. 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.
- franga2000 6mo agoI feel like glueing on an attachment or putting on gloves (!!) to use your laptop is in fact a much worse solution to the issue of "edge is too sharp" than...making the edge less sharp... 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.
- jxramos 6mo agoIt’s not only more comfortable to file off those sharp edges but also makes the laptop less dangerous to carry around. Those sharp edges not only cause discomfort but can chip paint, damage furniture, and inflict damage in general. If you had to you could use it as a weapon I suppose.
- lokimedes 6mo agoTo my great dismay, I discovered the physical incompatibility of two Apple products recently: The sharp edge of my MBP and my Apple Watch’s magnetic strap. It seems that the magnets are an effective abrasive, resulting in a ruined strap and a rounded edge. Thank you Apple, you have taken designed obsolescence to a new level.
- cassianoleal 6mo agoA few weeks ago I accidentally dropped my space grey MBP. It had the lip open and fell on its right corner, inner/keyboard side. 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.
- lozenge 6mo agoCan we get some pictures with the hinge closed?
- padjo 6mo agoI salute your can-do spirit and your will to customise your tools to your preferences. I also think you're an animal and need to be stopped before you do more damage to perfectly well designed machines.
- eru 6mo agoI don't have any trouble with the corner on my MacBooks. But now I'm disappointed that Apple added an extra few grams to my MacBook Air that they could have avoided without damaging functionality.
- khalic 6mo agoThat's some really poor filing job :D but yeah custom tools is the way to go
- datahack 6mo agoSo, is rasping a subset of hacking now? Goodness.
- voy707 6mo agoIf most laptop sales were still made in person, in a physical store, maybe laptops would still have rounded edges and maybe even flowing shapes
- dryadin 6mo agoNice initiative but I would personally prefer adding some kind of padding, which is an easier solution to the problem, not as drastic, reversible, and less controversial. Unless doing something controversial is one of the goals here, which is also fair.
- thenthenthen 6mo agoHow are you gonna close the lid when there is padding in the way?
- dryadin 6mo agoThin padding? Removable padding? Squishable padding? (Is that a word?) I assume that filing the edge leaves an ugly gap when closing the lid, so that is not ideal either.
- rcarmo 6mo agoThis is… unusual.
- rbanffy 6mo agoI would love to see a Unibody polished to a mirror finish. Would be a perfect match for Queen Amidala’s shuttle.
- fsiefken 6mo agodear apple, please bring back the wedge shaped design of the macbook air m1 https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/03/04/after-14-years-apple-has-finally-retired-the-famous-macbook-air-wedge-shape https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/03/04/after-14-years-ap...
- xbar 6mo agoLove mine. Filed that edge too.
- Hard_Space 6mo agoA spinal injury three years ago made me above-averagely aware of ergonomics, as I created a dedicated office (chairs, floating supports for monitors, keyboards, etc.) that would support the injury. 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!
- baud147258 6mo ago> This was on my work 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.
- artur_makly 6mo agoCan anyone explain why i get sharp electrical shocks when i touch the bottom edges with my wrists? Or its just me?
- b-star 6mo agoNot just you. If you use the Apple extension cord with the 3 prong outlet plug, this doesn’t happen. 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.
- thenthenthen 6mo agoIt is for cutting cake did everyone forget??? https://techcrunch.com/2008/06/01/the-macbook-air-thin-enough-to-slice-a-cake/ https://techcrunch.com/2008/06/01/the-macbook-air-thin-enoug...
- 4rtem 6mo agoIt's actually reveal the major issue in Apple products where aesthetics prevail over tactile. Sharp edges and aluminium is the worst way to make things that people use by fingers. I have some older version of Apple TV remote control and every day I wonder how it was approved to production, it's barely usable. 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.
- sanj 6mo agoThere’s something lovely about this. To my eye, it is like the patina that your favorite tools get. I’m looking at you, 40 year old tape measure.
- zeafoamrun 6mo agoYou mac people are masochistic freaks. Buying overpriced hardware that you hate the design of just to file off the corners.
- caymanjim 6mo agoI do this too, although only the corners. It's one of the only design failures of the MacBook.
- mrlonglong 6mo agoJust a few drops of mercury on aluminium kills it.
- ape4 6mo agoI'd like to see some side-by-side before and after photos
- scarybeard 6mo agoI have literally cut my finger with a sharp edge of one of my Apple laptops. Like a paper cut. Filing the edges down is the right way to do it. However - for that price it should've be done by Apple at their factory.
- Rekindle8090 6mo agoI dont believe this at all
- 1e1a 6mo agoThe edges of the air intake slits are much sharper.
- spockz 6mo agoAlso the two corner points next to the air slits underneath the screen when folded open. When I wipe away dust there it can feel slightly uncomfortable. The pci extension slot edges in most PC cases or the IO are way sharper. I’ve cut myself regularly on those when I was a little kid tweaking cases.
- michaelcampbell 6mo agoI was pulling mine to the bed from it being vertical against my bedside table along the intake slit. I didn't have a good enough old and it slipped through my finger/thumb and the slit edge raised a well and proper blood blister in my thumb.
- a456463 6mo agoi dont believe you
- burnt-resistor 6mo agoIt's a symptom of improper prioritization of values: form over function and usability. Form only matters to a tool if function and usability are present, otherwise that object becomes more like art than a tool.
- stogot 6mo agoIf this was a service in San Francisco I’d pay for it. I don’t want the particles in my space if I were to do it in my home
- nl 6mo agoFactory distressed Fender Stratocasters coming up...
- bilekas 6mo ago> This was on my work computer. I would love to see the guys reactions when you have to give this back.
- xtiansimon 6mo agoNice. Maybe a touch of 600 and 1200 wet/dry sandpaper (with some dish soap lubricant)?
- rvanmil 6mo agoI have calluses on my wrists from years of using MacBooks, so the sharp corners are no longer a problem ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- wildpeaks 6mo agoI can imagine the resulting texture feeling better on the skin, but I can't unsee the lack of symmetry.
- xbar 6mo agoI go through at least one dimestore nail file on every Macbook. The edge near the front touchpad always gets treated.
- samrus 6mo agoThank you for giving me the opportunity to freak out about it. I did so, but only a little bit. Then i thought about how i have sometimes felt the bottom corner to be a bit uncomfortable. But then i thought that it wasnt a big enough issue to be worth the effort of filing off the edge 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
- juleiie 6mo agoHonestly I love these things because they are so sturdy that you can do it. It’s like a slab of metal 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
- jensC 6mo agoI have a similar problem. My handicap makes it impossible to use the huge trackpad of all newer MacBooks. I am working still with a 2012 MacBook Pro that had a considerable smaller trackpad. Any idea from you guys how to circumvent these trackpad monsters? Thanks for any suggestion.
- rayiner 6mo agoThis is so triggering.
- vomayank 6mo ago[flagged]
- BobBagwill 6mo agoThis reminds me of the shim scene in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".
- mooktakim 6mo agoAh man, I hate how sharp the edges are. Good solution
- alecco 6mo agoWhat was wrong with a $20 palm rest/cover? It would also protect it for resale value.
- a-dub 6mo agomaybe a better approach to start with computers that already have ergonomic chassis (they exist) and then spend energy for modifying tools on what happens inside of them?
- kjkjadksj 6mo agoIt is kind of funny how all the comments are like “yes, finally, file away!” Instead of taking a step back and asking why half the users don’t get these issues at all with the way they lay their hands on the keyboard. I’ve been using metal macbooks for as long as they’ve been around and this is the first I’m hearing of it. Maybe I’m holding it right.
- jwlake 6mo agomy m1 max macbook pro 14 has small little divots out of the edge on the right side (not on the left) presuambly because of where my wrist sits when using the track pad. It would be nice it there was some radius on it to not cause that.
- Groxx 6mo agoYeah, they are quite uncomfortable. A clear "form before function" decision, and one of many "the wrong people are deciding things" signs :/ I like the idea of fully blending the notch, rather than just rounding slightly. Looks comfy and distinct!
- a96 6mo agoThe form is fuckugly, too. At least it's somewhat consistent, though.
- rlt 6mo ago> People like to freak out about this, so I wanted to post it here to make sure that everyone who wants to freak out about it gets the opportunity to do so. 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.
- xeromal 6mo agoOne of my favorite pastimes. There's a facebook group I'm in that has a member that ran over some old plastic part of his car that people pay good money for and the amount of chaos it caused in the group was indescribable. I watch the video anytime I need a good laugh
- adolph 6mo agoWas it the protective packaging of Dodge sports cars that people thought looked cool and thus retained? https://www.hellcat.org/threads/this-is-what-happens-when-the-bumpers-guards-are-left-on.224627/ https://www.hellcat.org/threads/this-is-what-happens-when-th...
- rlt 6mo agoHah, I didn't know until just now they weren't part of the design.
- KolibriFly 6mo agoBut there's also a thin line between trolling and just being comfortable ignoring other people's expectations
- duxup 6mo agoI'm a bad speller. At some point I improved, but on the early days of the internet I would intentionally misspell things as it just got some folks really going like a light switch ;)
- Zancarius 6mo ago
- tristanlukens 6mo agoMy first reaction to this was something akin to "what a terrible day to be literate" but the more I think about it, I admire how you're not afraid to change something about YOUR machine, that YOU paid for. Still wouldn't do this myself tho ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- kbutler 6mo agoI smoothed the sharp corners of the notch by the keyboard, and smoothed a corner where it got dinged from a drop, but nothing this extensive. Respect. I definitely empathize with "concerned I would file through the machine."
- danielvaughn 6mo agoI also hate these sharp edges. After a long working session I have deep grooves in my wrists, and my skin is red with irritation. It's uncomfortable enough that it distracts me from work. It's the very antithesis of good design.
- repple 6mo agoYeah, a very admirable project indeed.
- smrtinsert 6mo agoI would do this but cant stand the MacBook keyboards anyway. Even a cheap $50 amazon mechanical is a much more ergonomic experience
- Cort3z 6mo agoI can see Apple doing something similar in the future. Just like how they are pivoting away from flat design in their ui, perhaps the time is ready for a more "organic" design. Wonder what marketing term they would use
- calmbonsai 6mo agoHey man, you keep doing you and let the haters wash off your shoulders. I'm left-handed and remove the pocket clip from all of my knives. The power to personalize should not be underestimated--even at the cost of durability and overall functionality.
- 627467 6mo agoI never owned the MacBook I used and the current one I do own I still consider selling one day. That's the only reason I'm not ready to replicate this on my own. 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
- pvtmert 6mo agoI think he filed edges too much that the font on the website is getting thinner. /s 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...
- KolibriFly 6mo agoIf a device is uncomfortable in daily use, modifying it to fit your body actually makes a lot of sense
- rpmisms 6mo agoI already use a matte screen protector on mine, I think I will do this as well...
- muzika 6mo agoI have also done it. My MacBook Pro felt like a torture to use until I filed the edges. Much better now.
- mzelling 6mo agoTo anybody who wants to try this at home: consider wearing a face mask while you do the filing. The author mentions taping off speakers etc. to protect the machine's internals from aluminum dust, but don't forget to protect your own body, too. Aluminum exposure has been linked to Alzheimer's, and inhalation likely poses particularly high risk, compared to ingestion.
- FredrikSE 6mo agoI had the same problem with my Macbook Air, solved it by design and 3D print a curved edge mounted with 3M. https://makerworld.com/models/1356464 https://makerworld.com/models/1356464
- namelosw 6mo agoI know it's too sharp for many people, but I've also heard a lot of people say they really enjoy touching the sharp corners of MacBooks repeatedly during boring meetings...
- steveharrison 6mo ago> This was on my work computer. Haha love it. Would love to see the IT guy's face handing that back in.
- fuzzy2 6mo agoIs this a design detail that has changed over time? 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.
- rldjbpin 6mo agomisread two 'l's instead of one and imagined it would be about the rounded corners in the latest macos. 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.
- mark124mj 6mo agoI have a MacBook and honestly barely use it anymore partly because of this. The front edge digs into my wrists after any extended session. It surprises me from Apple — a company known for obsessing over every detail of the user experience. Do they not test these things for hours of actual use? It's the kind of thing that seems like it would get caught immediately in any real-world usability testing.
- dominick-cc 6mo agoReminds me of the magic mouse having the charging port on the bottom
- pdroid12 6mo agoWould this void apple care?
- Andi 6mo agoI don't like it. I would just attach a part of a silicone baking form to the front of the body. This can be undone at any time.
- SamuelAdams 6mo agoAm I the only one that uses a thunderbolt dock and a keyboard + mouse + monitor setup? The Macbook itself is always closed in clamshell mode. 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.
- weezing 6mo agoCool idea, not very cool execution tho.
- xenadu02 6mo agoI do some machining as a hobby (I get enough of computers at work and elsewhere) so here's a similar tip: 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.