Overblown as the story may be, affected people are still concerned about their immaculate-white MacBooks getting inexplicably stained (for a range of reasons, from "I bought a white MacBook, and it should stay that way," to "I wouldn't want my girlfriend to think I'm an unhygienic slob" or something to that effect).  So someone else decided to recount his story of MacBook discoloration, and how he resolved it. Not with water, soap, nail-polish remover, cleaning wipes, 3M Magic Eraser, iKlear, white paint, the Invisible Shield, sending the notebook back to Apple, or trading it in for the black-case MacBook Ultimate (the "Blac"Book is a beaut, though), or stealing someone else's immaculate-white MacBook and leaving MacStained in its place.

He peeled it off.

The MacBook owner says that his notebook had suffered major discoloration, partly because he works in a rather dirty  environment. He was about to take the unit back to the store to remedy the stains when he noticed that the plastic skin of his casing was "fraying." Intrigued, he did something that would probably shock Apple's customer support team: he started to peel the skin off, to reveal the immaculate white that he knew and desired.

(Here we must post a warning: we do not know if peeling the plastic skin off as had been demonstrated by this article will impact your warranty. Hence our "shock the customer support team" comment. We are posting this for information purposes only.)

The owner explains that his MacBook had been running hot for quite a while, which probably caused the peeling. He had tried other methods of cleaning the casing before, but he found it odd that the skin decided to peel off just recently. After the MacBook had cooled, the peeling stopped. The owner does not know, either, if what had happened was that the plastic he peeled off was a protective coating, or simply a temporary protective skin someone forgot to peel off at the store, or if the discoloration was limited to the plastic skin or could occur at the casing itself beneath that skin.

Neither do we. But this story, seen in the light of our previous reports on the MacStains, probably implies that the discoloration is native to that clear plastic skin that coats MacBooks. The story we had on Apple replacing stained cases noted that the plastic in the new cases (and newer MacBooks) were smoother than the previous ones. But that's speculating.

Apple finally decided to do something about the MacBook heat issue aside from telling its customers to keep the machines off their laps. The company issued a firmware update for its entry-level MacBook that keeps the fan running continuously while keeping the "mooing" (noise) level down.

To update the SMC firmware on your MacBook:

1. Quit all other open applications.
2. Click Restart in the MacBook SMC Firmware Update window and wait for your computer to restart.
3. Click OK.
   

The SMC firmware update starts automatically and during the process the computer fans will run at full speed, but will return to normal once the update completes. The computer will restart automatically when the update is completed and opens the MacBook SMC Firmware Update. It is very important that you do not interrupt the update process.

If the update instructions appear on your screen again, the SMC firmware update was not successful. Repeat steps 2 and 3 above.

Download: [MacBook SMC Update]

The Apple MacBook wireless device driver is clear from any weaknesses.

This is what has been proven, contrary to the sensational claim made by two security specialists back at the August Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. There, they demonstrated how to "hack" an Apple MacBook wirelessly. But as it later on turned out, the demonstrators did not use the native MacBook wireless driver.

While hacker demonstrators David Maynor and John Ellch of SecureWorks did not outright say that the vulnerability was a Mac problem per se, but rather was a weakness with wireless device drivers in general, they did not, however, clarify that they were using a third party wireless device driver in their demonstration. Because of this, it sent alarm bells ringing off, particularly from the upset Apple party.

In response, SecureWorks released a statement through its website, saying that "This video presentation at Black Hat demonstrates vulnerabilities found in wireless device drivers. Although an Apple MacBook was used as the demo platform, it was exploited through a third-party wireless device driver - not the original wireless device driver that ships with the MacBook. As part of a responsible disclosure policy, we are not disclosing the name of the third-party wireless device driver until a patch is available."

So obviously, the demonstrators really had nothing bad to say about the MacBook's native wireless device driver. But then again, they probably thought it would make for a great dramatic effect to bring in the brand of Apple.

While demonstrations such as these may offer benefits in terms of promoting and providing further securities against hacking, it is best for the security experts to stick with real-life scenarios rather than exploiting a particular brand to jump up publicity, without even offering a caveat that the brand is being used for demonstration purposes only, and not to identify it as one of the problems they are discussing. It is not only some form of cheapshot, but it can also prove to be very detrimental not only for the exploited brand's image, but also to the security expert company who may be inviting legal action because of their negligence.

Mac Rumors seems to be the most apt place to keep hearing about this... though we do wish Apple would make make a definitive announcement. WWDC 2006 came and went, and we still have no official word on the mysterious Merom CPU and whether it will make an appearance on the newest MacBook release.

According to Mac Rumors and their linked report from Reg Hardware, Asustek is supposed to be making new MacBooks with the new CPU, instead of the previously used processor, known as "Yonah." All that we know so far are vague ideas of the specs of the Merom: it is supposed to go up to a max clock speed of 2.33 GHz and be a Core 2 Duo, which is meant to be more powerful than the Core Duo CPU, "Yonah."

It's genius how they're keeping tight-lipped about it and making the rumors spread to intrigue others, but too much silence is just as annoying as being wishy-washy over details and decisions.

Let's hope Apple makes up its mind and gives us all an answer soon, shall we?

Once upon a time, Apple decided to run on Intel processors. And so it did, starting with the MacBook Pro, followed by MacBook laptops a couple of months later. Everything went smoothly, and most Apple-users lived happily ever after.

Or is it? Apparently, the tides turned when the said laptops were shipped in quantity. Before we draw speculations, let's take a look at the complaints from most Mac users:

• Whining: The MacBook Pros seem to churn out an ominous whining noise that could be temporarily stopped by opening Photo Booth and closing the said appliction again. The cause? We have no idea. Apple responded though, by telling disgruntled users to contact AppleCare.
  

• Heat: Another source of frustration for MacBook and MacBook Pro users is heat (you might also want to check our article regarding the "exploding Apple Powerbook"), especially if they place it on their laps. Apple's advice? Don't use your laptop on your lap. Hmmm...
  

• Discoloration: Some users claim that there's an "odd discoloration on the casing around the plam rest ares on MacBooks, particularly white ones." Apple acknowledged the problem, admitted it was a "manufacturing defect," and told users to contact AppleCare.
  

• Batteries: There are also reports on warping batteries, which made many concerned about fire hazards. As a response, Apple had an official battery recall for MacBook Pro batteries sold before may 2006.
  

• Logic Boards: Complaints were made regarding random shutdowns "while plugged in or on battery, and usually multiple times in a single computing session." As a result, Apple launched a logic board repair program.

Some attribute these problems to the "rushed manufacturing" of these laptops. Many anticipated the Intel transition, and probably Apple responded by well, rushing the production of the said computers.

However, that's just a speculation. Do you share the same opinion? Let us know.

You can never have too much black in your life. Or can you? Well, we just can't get enough of Apple's sleek black Macbook so here are additions of images of the black beauty.

In an article posted a month ago, the black Macbook was dubbed "Macbook Ultimate". Who wouldn't agree? Black Macbook has a 13.3-inch glossy widescreen display thatÂ?s 79% brighter, with 30% more viewing area than the iBook before it. Photos are crisper and videos play vividly. A perfect eye candy! So relish these images as Macbook gives a whole new meaning to the word "black".

"If you want a stylish, great, capable portable, buy this one. You won't be disappointed." That's Washington Times' Mark Kellner's final verdict on the Apple MacBook. And reading the full review, it seems like the only thing he had against Apple's laptop was its heat.

Having the $1,600 notebook functional after a 2-foot drop was pretty impressive but that's not the only reason that got Kellner hooked. He loved the 13" glossy screen (a good change from the previously favored matte displays, says Kellner), the "Chiclets" style keyboard (which he was previously apprehensive about), the ample multimedia features, and the built-in WiFi antenna.

Of course, the product was not perfect, but one can forgive its imperfections. The built-in speakers may not be a high-end audio system, but as Kellner wrote, "in a hotel room with little else available, the music playback is quite nice".

The touch pad, which "doesn't send the cursor flying around the screen anywhere nearly as often as other computer's touch pads have done", can be forgiven by people who are quite good at with just the keyboard. Although, Kellner admits that "having external options, wired or wireless, is quite nice".

Check out Mark Kellner's full review of the Apple MacBook here.

By this time you pro'lly know the MacBook has earned a reputation for being too hot too handle - literally. It has been reported to cause leg burn and some guy even used his MacBook to cook an egg just to make a point. A Dell laptop, on the other hand, turned into a spectacular fire ball in an office in Japan during a  board meeting. 

Sounds like a battle brewing? Krische thought so and set up an experiment to see which of the two gets to wear the Jalapeno crown. The test was simple. He played a full-length DVD movie on both machines while running on batteries. All other conditions were kept the same. From the room temperature to the space between the laptops and the table on which they were placed. Temperature was measured using an infrared thermometer from the top-side and bottom-side of the laptops after an hour of playtime, and at the end of the 1 hour and 45 minute movie.

The results: The MacBook runs significantly hotter than the Dell in certain spots but the average temperature is about the same as Dell's. Krische thinks the MacBook is a great alternative to the PC anyways despite running a little bit hotter. After all the MacBook lacks the built-in cooling fans of the Dell, he says. By the way, he already owns a MacBook which makes him an Apple Person. Any PC Person for the rebuttal?

The MacBook has been attracting the wrong kind of attention for the wrong reason: its excessive heat. One man claimed the MacBook burned his wife's leg (which unlike many movie stars' gams were not insured for a million dollars, unfortunately). And some bloggers claim the MacBook gets soo hot it can cook an egg. Of course, they were being rhetorical.

But MacBook owner Derek went a step further... several steps further...to prove that the unit can actually double as a hot plate. He says his MacBook temperature reaches 159 degrees Fahrenheit. Enough to literally cook an egg, rather slowly, but definitely cooked. Now he's putting together a bunch of recipes which you can cook on your McBook. Derek thinks the infamous MacBook heat was part of Apple's plan to keep MacBook users from starving to death so they can purchase more Apple products later in life. We'll wait for the Derek's recipe book to see if we can truly survive without a hotplate.

By the way, Apple's response to the MacBook heat issue: It's not a laptop. So take it off your lap.

Apple's MacBook was put to the test by Yahoo! Finance's Robert Weston, and it's passed with flying colors. He's found that it looks sleek, runs very fast and should give manufacturers of Windows- based notebooks cause for concern.

Weston loved the MacBook's versatility. With extra software, it can of course run Windows and OS X - and with Parallels it can even switch between them at the press of a button. The 'BlackBook' he tested was a speed demon, too (when running software optimized for OS X it "felt significantly speedier than the PowerPC-based system it replaced", although older software designed for PowerPC Macs was relatively slower).  He also thought its dimensions were well-nigh perfect; the MacBook is only over an inch thick, a whopping 20 percent thinner than the iBook it replaces.

Weston also praised the laptop's display (the first glossy display on any consumer laptop from Apple), the machine's ability to display music, photos and movies when connected to regular TVs, and the sensitivity of the Wi-Fi antenna.

Just about the only things Weston didn't like were the MacBook's heft (it's 5.2 pounds, a little heavier than he'd like) and the lack of a dedicated graphics card for the gamers. But that didn't appear to give him pause at all; he says, "Overall, the MacBook is a well-priced laptop that fits the needs of most consumers... Combine [its] ability to run Windows at native speed with Apple's renowned knack for elegant hardware and software, and it's a formula that should give other PC makers nightmares."

Sounds good enough for me - although I might just wait until Apple solves the discoloration problem first...