mistergsf

evilution said:

A common problem for many decades. Only becomes an “actual” problem when it has an Apple logo on it, apparently.

THIS!!!

StrangeDays said:

rogifan_new said:

StrangeDays said:

rogifan_new said:

On John Gruber’s site he says anyone who encounters this should be outraged. Why do I get the feeling this is going to turn into another gate? Even though at this point we don’t even know for sure what’s causing it, how many different surfaces it impacts or if it leaves a permanent mark or can be wiped clean. Obviously if it leaves a mark that can’t be wiped clean that’s a huge miss on Apple’s part. But we don’t know at this point if that’s the case or not.

those ATP boys sure do experience a lot of outrage. at least this time it’s not over keyboard key travel. 

To be fair it’s a bit perplexing that Apple didn’t warn about this and include a disclaimer in the product packaging. Which would lead one to believe QA missed this. If they knew about it but chose not to disclose that’s just as bad. Still I don’t think it deserves to be a gate.

If you have special oiled wood I think the onus of care is on you as the owner. Others who own such pieces here say they’re familiar with devices leaving marks in their living finish and are familiar with care steps to prevent or restore. 

This isn’t Apple’s problem.  

I agree.  I'm a little surprised by the hysteria about this.  It's probably a shock for some if they've never experienced it before with other items.  Really, though.  This is a common occurrence with certain wood furniture and finishes.  Should Apple really be responsible for warning people in advance?  I think not. But that's just me.

For the record, my orange LaCie Rugged portable drive also leaves marks on my oil stained wood desk if sitting directly on the surface.  When I'm copying files to it, I usually put in on top of something or on the iMac base.  I guess if you don't own a lot of wood furniture, it can be alarming but it happens all the time.  Also, the marks aren't permanent and they go away on their own or I'll polish it with Howard Feed n Wax.

Edit:
Also, I forgot to mention my Airport Time Capsule, my Beoplay A1 speaker, my Bose Soundlink mini, my Swingline stapler. I could go on and on.

hammeroftruth said:

The last furniture refinishing expert I worked with said never use any furniture polishes because they contain silicon. Use wax only. 

I use Howard Feed n Wax on all my wood furniture.

Mike Wuerthele said:

foggyhill said:

Oiled wood? Like wood with no other scellant than oil? That's not a surface I have a lot around here. All my woods have a varnish, laquer or paint on them.
Obviously, something in oil (or whatever other product in that) leaching something out of silicon.

From a chemistry standpoint, the fact that the ring fades at least some with time doesn't suggest a leaching, but probably an oxidation/reduction-type reaction.

We're still looking into it. 

I hope this is not blown out of proportion. I can tell you that this happens with a whole host of things that have rubber bottoms or feet. I have a lot of Mid Century modern furniture pieces and I encounter this problem all the time. It mainly affects wood that is oil stained and not sealed with a lacquer or varnish. When I got my HomePod last Friday, I had it sitting on my desk at home which is a vintage desk and oil stained. I picked it up and saw it left a ring and I realized "oh", it's got a rubber bottom. The ring faded after a while but I usually use Howard Feed n Wax to remove rings quickly.  Just don't ask me about the chemistry of it all cause that is not my strength.  I just wanted to say that it hasn't permanently harmed my desk.  On my same desk, I have an AirPort Extreme Time Capsule which I have on top of a coaster because it does the same thing.