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Apple to fix whine and discoloration in its notebooks

Apple to fix whine and discoloration in its notebooks

Andrew Gruen
Andrew Gruen
is an intern who reviews products for CNET.com and CNET News.com.
Andrew Gruen

Remember the fiasco over scratching the iPod Nano? People were really upset, and that was over the aesthetics of a sub-$300 music player. Apple notebook users are fickle folk, too--they pay top dollar for their hardware and expect near perfection from it. So when reports of the MacBook Pro emitting a high-pitched whine started coming in just days after the machine's release, many would-be upgraders were dismayed. Then, just a short while after the release of the consumer-oriented MacBook, stories of early aging and case discoloration made their way to the Web. For a few months now, Apple repair staff have either been telling customers that these problems were normal or quietly went about fixing the issues.

It looks like that's all changing. Apple has posted two of what might be the shortest support documents ever in its support knowledge base. Titled "MacBook Pro with noise under the keyboard" and "About white MacBooks' palmrest area", they suggest that affected users should "contact AppleCare for service."

Though it's good to see that Apple has officially admitted to problems and is taking care of them, users have had issues since the MacBook Pro's release in March. There's little praise to be given for fixing a problem more than four months after it cropped up.