Mind the Gap!

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
What's with the gap between the lid and the chassis in the new 15" and 17" PBs? I never noticed it before on the Rev A 17" and TiBook (though I rarely saw them first hand). Is it a manufacturing fault (latch/hinge), an architectural requirement (cooling), a design feature, or something else?



It kind of annoys me looing at the pictures at www.apple.com/uk/powerbook/. WHY THE GAP? When I first saw pictures of the new PB on the 16th I thought they had just been bodged together on Photoshop and weren't real photos. But now I've seen real photos and the gap makes the whole notebook look unrefined and less robust.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Maybe DaveHagan and others can confirm, but I think there are little bumpers on the display that create a gap. I'd assume it's this way so there's some gap between the keyboard (finger oils, Fritos crumbs and whatnot) and the display.



    Of course, I could be totally wrong. But I don't think so. It's being talked about at macnn.com forums and arstechnica.
  • Reply 2 of 4
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    My dad's Rev. B TiBook has an uneven gap between the screen and the computer. One side is held closer than the other. But it was fixed with subsequent revisions - a friend's 1 GHz TiBook is just right, the entire length of the case.



    My dad's TiBook also has many key marks on the screen. I assume putting bumpers on the screen to prevent that is a good thing. I wouldn't worry too much about the gap.
  • Reply 3 of 4
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pscates

    Maybe DaveHagan and others can confirm, but I think there are little bumpers on the display that create a gap. I'd assume it's this way so there's some gap between the keyboard (finger oils, Fritos crumbs and whatnot) and the display.



    That's the right reason, but the bumpers don't actually cause the gap; they don't even touch the bottom case unless you squeeze the lid shut. I'm sure the gap is there by design, to address the screaming of TiBook owners who complained about the grease marks on their displays.



    It is quite a change from the Ti, which fit together so snugly. I'd take the Ti case with the revised guts in it any day, but apparently Apple DOES listen to its customers. Who knew?
  • Reply 4 of 4
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    I was just looking at my 12" today. When latched the gap is curved. When open the screen is very straight. So it curves a little when latched. I guess there's nothing much to do about it.
Sign In or Register to comment.