OK, last week the screen on my laptop blacked out after two years. Since my laptop is my lifeline to, you know, the world, I was very bummed. It was December 23rd, so I knew the chances of getting it fixed anytime in the near future were low.
The Friday after Christmas I looked up my warranty online and realized that when I bought my amazing Inspiron in 2007, I dropped some extra cash for the extended warranty. Best. Decision. Ever. My little laptop is covered through January 2010 -- for everything. I once didn't buy the extended warranty for an iPod, and when it broke I was out of luck -- and several hundred dollars.
Today the nicest guy named Jorge came over, and we chatted while he fixed my screen. Turns out it was some cable that got loose, and he patched it up quite nice. It took all of a half hour.
My point? 1. Always get the extended warranty, regardless of how much it cost. I don't even know what parts and labor would have cost me otherwise. Computers are expensive as they are, and even more so if something goes wrong.
2. I don't care what people say about Macs being All Powerful, dealing with Dell has been an absolute joy. Also? After two years my Inspiron still purrs like a kitten, despite the way that I schlep it around town. True, PCs are different than Macs, but it takes a certain kind of brain to deal with PCs, and it's a brain that understands computers at their core. Macs make computing idiot-proof, but I don't need my hand held when I use a laptop. Yes, I have an iPhone, but you'd be very hard pressed to pull me away from a PC.
Long live Dell!
