drive damage by moving in sleep mode ?

a girl told me that if you move your macbook around while in the sleep mode, -or in any mode besides it being turned off- then there is a needle in the hard drive that could easily be broken

is this true ??

It can only be damaged from the time you select the apple menu then select sleep. Until the light in front starts cycling from bright to dim, you shouldn't touch the computer. Once it is in sleep mode, you can move it anywhere, even in a backpack or case.

Even then, the Macbook is equipped with motion sensors that quiesce the drive if you move or (gasp!) drop it to save the hard drive while it's running.

However, I did have a CD player (since replaced by AppleCare) that would groove up CD/DVDs if you picked it up and tilted it while the drive was spinning. They'd still play, but they were physically damaged. Platter came out looking like a phonograph record. Doesn't do that anymore.

And there are no needles in hard drives.