On Nov 2, 2010, at 1:11 PM, Karl Kuehn wrote: > On Nov 2, 2010, at 1:03 PM, Macs R We wrote: > >>> FWIW, I generally don't for computers that are primarily single-user and >>> safely situated on a desk for their lifetime (barring the occasional move). >>> For hardware that will be carried around a lot or be subject to greater >>> abuse (laptops, large number of users, etc.) I do buy AppleCare. >>> >>> I'm sure other have different criteria. >> >> Curiously, mobility is not the factor that one would assume it is. >> AppleCare is not an insurance policy -- if you drop, spill into, or damage >> your own machine, you're going to pay for the repair yourself. AppleCare >> covers only "inherent" failures, which strike both desktops and laptops >> equally. > > I will argue (without any real numbers behind it) that because of the > miniaturization and the larger heat issues, not to mention threading a > display connection through a hinge (that has been a problem) that laptops are > more prone to breakdown.
This is true, upon reflection. Actually, the examples I gave which came to my mind were so egregious that Apple ended up covering them even in the absence of AppleCare (except for the heat-related graphics problems in some models of iMac). Things like frayed LVDS cables are endemic, and get fixed all the time under AppleCare, yet we don't tend to look at them as epidemic design flaws because the industry as a whole doesn't yet offer a clearly superior alternative design. -- Macs R We -- Personal Macintosh Service and Support in the Wickenburg and far Northwest Valley Areas. http://macsrwe.com _______________________________________________ MacOSX-talk mailing list MacOSX-talk@omnigroup.com http://www.omnigroup.com/mailman/listinfo/macosx-talk