Apple users

[Synth3t1c]

Yay or nay on their protection plan for their notebooks. For the macbook pros especially they are expensive. Does it cover accidental? (if I accidentally threw it around would they have to give me a new one or fix it or what?). Do you get your moneys worth with this? If it needs to be sent off to be fixed with it, do they backup my hard drive for free? Anything else i should know?

 

[oogabooga]

I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't cover accidental. If it needs major repair (within the first.. 30? days) then they replace, otherwise repair. You can't back your own hard drive? - Even if they did i would back up my own drive myself on my main rig.

http://www.apple.com/support/products/
http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/AppleCareProtPlanFacts.pdf

from the pdf/site looks like you get phone support and repair services. Sadly like all warranties it's a if you need it and use it, then it was probally worth your money. But if you don't, it was a waste.

One other thing of note is that apple's tend to keep their resale value a lot better then pc notebooks do. If i were to buy a macbook today i'd probally pick up the applecare for the three years of repairs (since resale value wouldn't have dropped so much that it'd be hard to sell the old laptop and upgrade)

 

[HomerSapien]

Like oogabooga said, it is great if you need it and crappy if you dont. I never had to use the protection plan on my tibook (~5 years old). A friend had a newer model powerbook ( i think it was 1.2-1.4 ghz g4) and he had to use the plan twice. Both times were from faulty ram (crucial first time, apple brand second time) and apple gave him a new computer each time. First replacement he was given an upgraded model that had a faster processor and more hd space along with several other features. Second time it was just a replacement.