Interesting how Mac user experiences couldn't be further from one another. 9 years, maybe 7 macs, never bought Applecare and have never needed it.
Maybe I've just been very unlucky.
I got into Macs about five years ago when the first G5 iMac was released. (bought a max spec 20") I had various hardware problems with it going in for, I think, four repairs at which point I wanted a new machine. After hearing about many other people with similar issues I asked to have it replaced with a “tried and true” design rather than a first generation product, and had it swapped with a 17" Powerbook G4 which was around the same price. (slightly less I think)
…The first one arrived damaged and was replaced. That one lasted a year or two but had several hardware failures/repairs and when it finally came back from a repair with the case damaged, I requested another new machine.
The 17" size was starting to bother me, the new 15" MacBook Pros were the same resolution (1440x900) and if I remember correctly, there wasn't even a 17" model available at the time (or they were heavily backordered and there would have been a long delay) so I requested a 15" and got that. (I'm sure they were happy to as it cost a lot less!)
At this point, that machine has been away for, I think, three separate repairs (one of which was a return for a bad repair…) has been through two power adapters (the new magsafe connector is terrible) and needs another, and I've been through three batteries. (all losing a significant amount of capacity before 100 cycles, and one of which actually started to expand—I think it was one of the problematic Sony ones) The current battery is starting to go now as well—at 50% capacity even though it's only six and a half months old.
For me, Apple's computers have been the least reliable computers I've ever owned. No PC I've ever bought or built myself has given me half as much trouble as these Macs have.
That's not to say they're bad computers though, maybe I'm just really unlucky. While I do know one or two people that have had the occasional problem over the years, the majority of people I know with Macs have been trouble-free. Aside from the case starting to crack on one of them (which is not from misuse) there are two generations of 13" MacBooks here as well as my MBP that haven't had any issues so far.
Even just one of the repairs I've had done on these computers would have probably cost the price of AppleCare alone, so you can see why I'm reluctant to keep a Mac without it, especially one that's ageing and has already given me problems so far.
I
almost wish I hadn't switched over to Macs in the first place, as I can't go back to Windows now. I love the OS, and have quite a few Mac specific programs I've bought over the years now. I actually have a Vista machine I built recently for media purposes and it's fairly horrible to use in comparison, but OSX doesn't support Blu-ray yet and their towers are ridiculously expensive as they only offer server-grade hardware.
If they can at least offer a usable screen and fix some of the other problems with the new designs (like the removal of the expresscard port) I'd still like to upgrade to a new MacBook Pro towards the end of the year.
1920x1200 on 15" is insane. Will you use a huge magnifying glass to see text and small icons?
I'm all for more matte screens though, no argument there.
I can certainly understand that not everyone would want 1920x1200 on a 15" screen, though I'm not sure it's that much of an issue now.
All modern web browsers now support content scaling rather than just text to maintain the original layout, most applications will let you adjust the font size in them. Using a larger sized font on a higher resolution screen should make text even easier to read than before.
For me, it's all about workspace. In Lightroom at 1440x900 you barely have enough room for a single panel open at the side, and things like the keyword panel (if you have a lot) requires a lot of scrolling. Even 1920x1200 doesn't give you
that much more room.
Higher PPI screens (1920x1200 on a 15.4" screen is roughly 150 PPI compared to the current 110) should also be better at judging print sharpness. (though still not great)
