If you're the not-so-proud owner of a defective MacBook Pro 1.83GHz whose unit's whining is setting your teeth on edge, rejoice! Apple is allowing owners of machines like yours to swap out their defective motherboards for good ones - and this modification will either greatly reduce the noise or, in the best-case scenario, shut the CPU up completely.

We've received news third-hand, thanks to Wired's Pete Mortensen, of this official logic board replacement for the MacBook Pro. He tells us of a certain CK, who's reported that all he needed to do to discover this revision and to get it shipped out was to give an Apple phone rep a call. (The phone rep had to check his eligibility first, though - something to keep in mind?) So if your MacBook Pro's driving you nuts, now, at the very least, you've got someone new to shout at.

Tons of disgruntled MacBook owners have been clogging blogzones with accounts of how their immaculately white machines have been tarnished by the mysterious appearance of yellowish discoloration. While the MacStain does not affect the performance of computer, it does give the impression that the users of these discolored units have the habit of using their MacBook to wipe their grubby hands clean.

But the issue is more than skin deep as almost none of the commercially available cleaners can bring back the snow-white MacBook to its pristine condition. One solution suggested using scratch-resistant plastic skins called Invisible Shield. Problem solved? Not so fast!

A MacBook user who did use a Shieldzone's Invisible Shield to the palm rests and trackpad areas reported that it didn't stop the MacStain from making its unwanted appearance under the plastic film. "Shocked" and "Complete and utter amazement and irritation" were some of the sentiments that we could print here.

By the way, Apple not only failed to come up with an explanation for the phenomenon. It has banned all discoloration-related posts from its official discussion website. Now that's really MacShitty!

You and Tom Kim both. And apparently, dozens more of Mac users. Some of the problems that Tom cited on his machine were some sort of static-looking borders around the popup menu, a weird color band that runs across the top of the desktop picture and degradation on the Dock bar.

There are a lot of theories circulating on why this could be happening for the Mac's screen. Rumors range from rendering of shadows to a problem with the video card to using secure virtual memory. But one point that they all agree on is that this happens when you're really taxing your system. The solutions are just as varied as the possible causes. Some suggest to disable the virtual memory or to install the latest firmware upgrade, claiming that this has done the job for them. Rumor has it that Apple is well aware of the problem and is working on a remedy that will be included in 10.4.8.

Apple is sure getting the ire of hordes of MacBook users because the company hasn't done much to solve the burning issue of the infamous laptop. While the MacBook is being marketed as a laptop, the manual warns of potential burn and discomfort when it makes contact with your lap or any surface of the body. Can you say huge discrepancy?

Well, it seems Apple has been doing its rounds of net scouring and took notice of its own marketing boo-boo and didn't waste any time rectifying the error of its marketing ways. The change is now reflected in the Student Orientation site. Here's what Apple's spin doctors came up with:

From this:

To this:

Clever. If Apple thinks that this will appease MacBook users, the company should think again. MacBook users don't want changes in marketing and sales literature (read: cover-ups), they want their laps burnt-free. Apple should find a real solution and fast if it doesn't want toasted laps to add to its legal woes.

The MacBook has been in the center of a lot of faulty issues- discoloration, temperature problems, keyboard issues among many other things. Now to add to that growing list of issues is a battery glitch. Reports have emerged of a serious battery fault in some of Apple's new MacBook Pro units. Uh-oh.

These Apple babies use Lithium polymer batteries and faults in some of these are believed to cause a host of issues including the failure of batteries to charge completely, computer shut downs and disrupted trackpad functionality. In the worst case scenario they have caused the laptop case to buckle.

Apparently, australia/4528" id="tag" title="">Apple Australia has not reported any occurrence of such battery defect. Most of the claims are coming from the North American users. The good news is most of these consumers' units have been properly fixed and is some cases, replaced. As for Apple's take on this emerging issue, the company advises on its website that for prolonged use, users place notebook on a flat stable surface. Also, they recommends that customers with hardware issues should contact an Apple Authorized Service Provider or the company directly.

Want to protect your iPod or MacBook and flaunt your individuality as well? If that idea floats your boat, then maybe the Muff Store's Designer Muffs are just suitable for you.

The designer muff project is a joint effort to come up with a unique iPod and MacBook covers and at the same time help out young and promising artists to increase their chances of getting into the mainstream act. In fact, a percentage of the profits will go directly to the designers' pockets.

The two Muff designers are Seb Godfrey and Rob Cordiner. There are three designs to choose from- ghosties, skulls, and satisfied. The Muff Store promises more designs in the coming days, but for now, you'd just have to make do with these three. Design muff covers for the iPod will cost you $17 while the MacBook covers will go for $35 a pop.

You don't have to be a snake charmer to make your Mac dance, all you need is this nifty program called iSpazz. It's a plugin for iTunes on OS X, controlling the MacBook Pro/PowerBook backlight keyboard and optionally the display backlight.

All you need to do is download the plugin at the bottom of this article, uncompress and copy it to Library/iTunes/iTunes Plug-ins in your home folder. Press "i" to toggle the display flicker. Although, Stefan Werner gives us warning of installing this at your own risk because with all that flickering going on it might have an effect on your backlights and maybe even kill it.

On a lighter note, he sends his thanks to apple4ever from the Mac Ach, Amit Singh and Marvis.

Download: [iSpazz]

Remember this odd little creature?

It used to show up in the "Page Orientation" dialogue whenever you went to print anything on your Mac. Because of its rather indeterminate appearance - contained both bovine and canine characteristics - it was dubbed the "dogcow"...

And now, it seems to be making noises in some peoples' MacBooks - specifically, from the fan.

As you know, the fan kicks on and off in its unending job of keeping the CPU from overheating. Some users have reported a "moo-ing" sound emanating from the mechanism whenever it performs its task. One user took his MacBook to an Apple service center only to be told, "It's normal. A fan will do what it needs to do to keep the machine cool." 

DUH...

Apparently, the MacBook Pro also had this problem, which disappeared when the fan unit was replaced. Obviously, a MacBook that goes "moo" is NOT normal.

Your best bet to exorcise the dogcow...? Call AppleCare.

When you press that start key and nothing happens, it's more than an inconvenience.

If you're like a lot of Mac users, it's a betrayal. Suddenly, this faithful friend and servant that has worked with you for so long has decided to "check out" on you.

Remember, however, that Apple has traditionally taken very good care of its treasured customers. If your machine is still under warranty, they'll even send someone to your domicile to correct the problem. But even if its out of warranty, the Apple has been designed to be extremely user-friendly - and there are very few problems that the user can't often solve on his/her own.

The folks at Creative Techs in Seattle have come up with a  handy four-step process to get you back up and running, read the Full Article to start on the path towards recovery.

Aside from the iPod, I have endured pains of staying away from Apple's products - it was a pain because the white MacBook looked uber yummy and being a sucker for beautiful things, I was highly tempted. But maybe I was too dependent on Windows that I was able to resist the MacBook temptation.

Then I chanced upon this video by Norman1977. Recording his 2 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 100 GB HDD MacBook in action, he shows just how fast the built-in applications in Apple's laptop are...and the MacBook temptation is back again, this time much stronger than before. To all doubting thomases, click on the video and see if Norman1977 can convince you to move over to the Apple camp as well.