On Black Friday I picked up a 15” MacBook Pro to replace my three year old 13”. Shortly thereafter, I had to take an unexpected road trip to Michigan. With judgement clouded by my new electronics high, I decided to bring my shiny new machine with me. That in and of itself was not the problem. The problem was that I decided to bring it with me prior to the arrival of my new Incase bag.

I didn’t have the right protective gear so I stuck the laptop in a small backpack, loaded it in my Suburban, and went on my merry way. My way became significantly less merry when I opened the back hatch and watched my backpack crash to the pavement with a horrible thud.

The backpack had some padding, but as bad luck would have it, it landed directly on the part of the backpack with no padding whatsoever. The resulting damage to my week-old aluminum Macbaby made me a die a little inside. Although the laptop was operational, the corner of the case, including the screen, was dented.

Apart from looking awful, the damage caused the base of the laptop to be uneven. Using it on a hard surface results in a teeter-totter type of wobble. It’s like using a keyboard with only one of the keyboard feet down. Savage.

I will be going in to the Apple store to determine if I can have the case replaced. I’m sure something can be done, but I’m not optimistic that it can be done for less than the price of a new MacBook. If you own the bag below, do not use it to transport your important gadgetry.

My wife told me that the damage gives the laptop “character.” I think she said that in the same spirit as someone who tells you that your huge, bulbous, misshapen nose gives you character. My first car had character too. It was an ugly, rust bucket, gas-leaking, death-trap. I do look back on it nostalgically, but at the time it wasn’t a joy to drive.