AppleCare Macbook Pro 13" /MB Air $179.99+FS

How is this compared to SquareTrade warranty?

I thought this said Macbook Air and my eyes dropped at price. This is regular sales price at B&H. Good deal, but no means a slickdeal. And for all the apple haters out there, please explain why PC sales are tanking while Macs and iPads are taking market share away. The only reason I would buy a PC is to install Linux and I have enough old machines for that.

Quote from FaMiNe : You can buy an extended warranty through your credit card company (if you bought it with a credit card). Most credit cards allow this (visa, mastercard, american express). It'll probably cost you less than $100, and when I did it, it covered the laptop for 4 years, and includes covering the battery (so, same coverage as applecare, but cheaper and longer extension). Plus, depending on the problem you're having with your laptop, they might just cut you a check for the price you paid for it, instead of replacing it with the same model.

How do you get that? Just call them up? I know Amex doubles manufacturer warranties, but I've never heard of it being extended up to 4 years.

pretty cheap for a macbook air.... $179... I think it is the lowest I have seen. Is it still worth it or should I should just a kindle fire HD?

Quote from yearofdeath : Well, I can't help you if you don't understand that it's not a hardware problem - no idea where you got that idea. I clearly stated that it was the lack of apple support and the inability to update the osx, and coincidentally, retrieve updated plugins and drivers. I can quote my post if you are too lazy to read it: where I state that installing windows would be too easy (or any other 'non-supported' OS for that matter)*. But I didn't... And I likewise didn't want to potentially remove any of my neighbor's restrictive 'apple warranty' by installing an 'unsupported' and updated osx.

I do so love these debates; they add so much.

First, let me get this out of the way: you clearly have no understanding of the Mac ecosystem. Apple has one of the most robust legacy support systems in the industry, period. People with Apple hardware from *2005* can install 10.6.8 and be fully supported from a driver perspective. The hardware is *completely* covered. The only way your "neighbor" couldn't upgrade past Leopard is if he/she had a PPC-based Mac, in which case the computer is literally 10 years old. I will point out that no other computer manufacturer in the world offers this level of support. If you have a Dell machine that shipped with Windows XP, you can bet your ass they're not going to help you upgrade to 7. You *may* be able to swing it through third-party drivers and other finagling (and you can do the same with OSX) but it's a pain in the ass.

Quote : Allow me to break it down for you, in baby steps: Apple care = apple terms (of service) = no (legal) ability to mod, under such terms = more money to pay apple for warranty that does not provide basic software support (leaves Mac users, like my neighbor, with their butts to the wind) = even more money to pay apple (per the advice of apple tech support) for the most expensive and unnecessary alternative, within their 'support' ... This is what the topic is about, not what you can do yourself under apple warranty or after extending your 'support' with AppleCare.**

No. AppleCare is a full hardware warranty for three years on your machine, where you can walk into an Apple store, give them your machine, and they will fix it. For free. That's what AppleCare is. No one buys it for the software support, although that is a nice added bonus.

Why is a hardware warranty so important for an Apple machine? Because they are incredibly well-engineered to look great, and that means custom parts that cannot be replaced easily. (Outside of RAM and HDD, which no self-respecting computer enthusiast should ever purchase from a computer manufacturer.) I've taken apart many an Apple computer and it requires specialized tools and a lot of time, because Apple cares about making their computers as thin and light as possible. Any Windows machine with this goal is also a nightmare to take apart. You ever work on an Ultrabook? I had to remove the case, the hard drive, and then literally dis-assemble the motherboard and remove it entirely from the case to get to the RAM. Yes, the RAM. Paying $180 so that for three years you can get anything that fails replaced, free of charge, makes a lot of sense when you don't want the headache of securing the parts and spending the hour or two to do the repair yourself. I value my time.

Quote : **This is assuming you do know how to operate and care for your electronics and do not habitually break them - in which case, any insurance policy might be a good idea.

It has nothing to do with habitually breaking hardware. All hardware fails. It's simply a matter of time. I have an old HP that's lasted 10 years so far. I had a Dell fail in 2 years. The reverse has happened. I've had an Apple product fail catastrophically once, and I was damn glad I had the extended warranty when it did. This, unfortunately, is our world: no computer manufacturer is willing to warrant their goods indefinitely. Given that, and given Apple's custom engineering, spending $180 ($70 less than the retail cost of the plan) to warrant the machine for two extra years sounds pretty damn appealing.

Quote : (Had this been a different argument, It appears that we might actually agree upon something - to avoid apple care and do it yourself - unfortunately, the majority of Mac users do not understand how and can not help themselves.

Right, and the "majority" of Windows users are geniuses? Are you listening to yourself? People are retarded, ALL OF THEM, when it comes to computers. Given your text I would suggest that you are too, but you've convinced yourself that you're good with a screwdriver or something. Go administer an enterprise network for a few years, build out a few networks (crimping the cable yourself), and then come back to this thread.

Quote : The fact that you bypassed apples checks and installed a newer OS that its not 'officially' able to install is quite amazing, really. You might want to mention that next time, you know, instead of giving people the false impression that its readily available to typical Mac users. You might also want to let them know that it voids whatever AppleCare/warranty they may have.

No such "check" exists. You know what I think you did? I think you tried to use someone else's OSX CD, that came with their machine, to install a new OS on your neighbor's machine. It's a rookie mistake: those CDs are locked to the machine they ship with.

If you'd spent 2 minutes googling, you'd have found that those CDs are NOT what you should use for general upgrades. You'd have purchased (or torrented) a Snow Leopard CD from a retailer and been shocked when it installed everything trivially easily. But you didn't, because the truth is, you're just not that smart.

You want to prove that you are? Get me your neighbor's Macbook ID. (It reads like thus: MacbookAir3,1.) Give me that, and I will either show you where you went wrong, or I will freely admit that I am an ass.

Here's what it comes down to: Apple produces cost-effective, aesthetically pleasing hardware. Any Windows alternative with the same specs and engineering as an Apple machine often costs more. OSX has serious downsides, so I always have a custom Windows rig for when I need it, and I keep Backtrack closeby for some Linux USB goodness.

The convenience of going to an Apple store and having my computer fixed without question for THREE YEARS (and not having to spend 3 hours on the phone with a tech from India to just get them to replace my clearly broken part) is absolutely worth the cost of AppleCare. Hopefully you will one day open your eyes, swallow your misguided pride, and realize that Apple machines are no longer the over-priced, underperforming computers they once were. (And make no mistake, for a very long time they were absurdly expensive.)

But let's be honest: you won't understand half of this post, and will probably go back to spouting your FUD. This is slickdeals, after all.

OP, good price, but it's actually standard for B&H. I always pick up my AppleCare from them now.

Quote from carloo : How is this compared to SquareTrade warranty?

The primary difference is that SquareTrade will only warrant up to your machine's original purchase price. This is important because if you manage to snag a great deal on an Apple machine, the SquareTrade warranty will use THAT price to determine how much they pay you in the event of a catastrophic failure.

This is obviously problematic, because Apple repairs are expensive and it's completely feasible that SquareTrade may simply send you a check for the original purchase price of your machine and no way to repair your machine without more out-of-pocket. Keep in mind, I've never heard of this happening, but according to their ToS it *could*.

Apple, on the other hand, will fix or replace your computer for three years. As long as you didn't smash it or something, you're covered. (They're weird about accidental damage, so be careful there. That is one very strong advantage that SquareTrade has.)

Quote from FaMiNe : You can buy an extended warranty through your credit card company (if you bought it with a credit card). Most credit cards allow this (visa, mastercard, american express). It'll probably cost you less than $100, and when I did it, it covered the laptop for 4 years, and includes covering the battery (so, same coverage as applecare, but cheaper and longer extension). Plus, depending on the problem you're having with your laptop, they might just cut you a check for the price you paid for it, instead of replacing it with the same model.

How do you do this? Any links?

Quote from Minotauraus : How do you do this? Any links?

It differs depending on what credit card you have, but here's the first link that popped up for Visa Warranty services

http://usa.visa.com/signature/ala...anager.jsp

Every time I've used it, I had to call the number on my benefits information paper that came with the credit card.

It also looks like they've increased the price a bit since last time I used the service, but it's still a great deal.

Quote from papatoony : How do you get that? Just call them up? I know Amex doubles manufacturer warranties, but I've never heard of it being extended up to 4 years.

Yeah, in addition to the normal free warranty extension, you can purchase a longer extension. The details and number depend on which credit card you have.

It has been around this price for awhile
http://applesliced.com/
good website to track price of apple accessories! highly recommended

Quote from tojo_m : pretty cheap for a macbook air.... $179... I think it is the lowest I have seen. Is it still worth it or should I should just a kindle fire HD?

neither they're both terrible products

Quote from spectheintro : No such "check" exists. You know what I think you did? I think you tried to use someone else's OSX CD, that came with their machine, to install a new OS on your neighbor's machine. It's a rookie mistake: those CDs are locked to the machine they ship with. If you'd spent 2 minutes googling, you'd have found that those CDs are NOT what you should use for general upgrades. You'd have purchased (or torrented) a Snow Leopard CD from a retailer and been shocked when it installed everything trivially easily. But you didn't, because the truth is, you're just not that smart.

This is not true. The OSX CD/DVD is not locked to a specific machine; they are locked to a specific model. Meaning you can only use the disc with any mac of comparable hardware such as the Disc which came with my mid 2009 MacBook Pro 13" can be used with any mid 2009 MacBook Pro 13". This limitation is based on the fact that only the drivers for the specific model are included on the disc.

Quote from Hawkinomics : Some people appreciate post purchase support. Just because you don't doesn't make them retards, to use your unrefined vocabulary. Apple hardware is far from overpriced if you consider the support provided in terms of software compatibility over the lifetime of the hardware. Try getting windows 8 drivers for a 2 year old Asus. Or just take my word for it that it's a nightmare.

I appreciated the beginning of your post and thought you were smart...then I read on and now I think that you're smart but didn't compare fairly. First of all, there's almost no reason to put Win8 on a two year old Asus, second I put Win8 on my three year old Asus and it's fine. Windows Update finds a lot of the shtuff that you need. And Apple software support my foot. My windows freeware updates itself just as well. It's not a unified updater but that's because it isn't installed from Win Update/isn't released by MS. If you get third-party OS X software that isn't on Apple Store, you're in the same situation. Additionally, the MBP is bottom-vented, and I don't appreciate the aluminum body.

Quote from N0BIGDEAL : This is not true. The OSX CD/DVD is not locked to a specific machine; they are locked to a specific model. Meaning you can only use the disc with any mac of comparable hardware such as the Disc which came with my mid 2009 MacBook Pro 13" can be used with any mid 2009 MacBook Pro 13". This limitation is based on the fact that only the drivers for the specific model are included on the disc.

That is what I meant: not necessarily the same machine, but the same machine class. My guess is that he picked up someone else's OSX CD and tried to install it on his neighbor's machine and that the two were from vastly different hardware generations.

Applecare is a no brainer. Thanks OP!