[Ti] From TiBook to MacBook: two questions

[Bill White]

A few weeks ago I migrated to a 2 GHz MacBook Pro from a 1 GHz TiBook,
skipping over any experience with the AlBooks. I'm trying to avoid one issue
I had with the TiBook and trying to troubleshoot a now recurring issue.

First, the TiBooks are well-known for having problems with marks on their
screens, and mine was no exception. It was plagued with the usual screen
marks...despite the fact that the screen *never* came in contact with the
keyboard; I used a piece of thin leather-like fabric between the keyboard
and screen, but it didn't fix the problem.

I seem to recall that the AlBooks, and hopefully the MacBooks, have more
space between the screen and keyboard, making a piece of fabric unnecessary.
Is this true?

Secondly, the TiBook had an annoying problem where a mouse attached to a USB
port would suddenly stop working, and I'd have to unplug/re-plug it to kick
it back into life. This would happen up to a dozen or more times a day and
got maddening. Now the MacBook is showing the same behavior. Is this a known
problem?

Thanks! Any feedback greatly appreciated.

Bill