Tikkabik

So, I have this kick-ass rig I'm very proud of. I've owned it for about a year. It's a "Quicksilver" Power Mac G4 -- 1GHz dual processor system, with a 22-inch Cinema Display. The way it's configured it's about a $6,000 rig. Unfortunately, I can't get AppleCare -- Apple's extended warranty -- to cover it if it ever breaks.

You have twelve months from the time of purchase of any Apple hardware, either from Apple or an authorized reseller, to get AppleCare. Customarily, Apple sends out owners of its equipment a notice a couple of months before the warranty expires to let them know the system's warranty is about to run out. Apple urges its customers to buy AppleCare, which charges a flat rate for several years of extended warranty coverage.

I'm not a big believer in extended warranties on disposable consumer items like telephones or microwave ovens, but on computers it makes sense: $350 to cover a $6000 machine for three years makes sense, especially given the knowledge that as enough time passes, things *will* fail.

Unfortunately, there was a snafu along the way -- apparently Apple failed to process my warranty registration. I did it online, the day I hooked the machine up. I remember it. I do it for every piece of Apple hardware that passes through my office. So they never notified me that the Power Mac G4's warranty was about to expire. And when I called my local dealership to ask about AppleCare, they gave me the bad news -- my Mac is now one month out of warranty, so I can't get AppleCare.

I even called AppleCare administration directly, but they told me the same thing -- Apple doesn't bend the rules for anyone, under any circumstances, when it comes to actually buying the plan.

So I'm screwed. The upshot is that the Power Mac has been a reliable system. I just hope it continues, at least until I'm flush enough to buy one of those snazzy new G5s. Hopefully not for a year or two, though...