My point is though: Apple treated me right when my machine fails, the other laptop manufacturers (Dell, Acer) do not, not by a long shot, and for that reason alone I'll keep buying Macs.
Your experience differs from mine :) I've always used PCs because they were cheap and I needed them for work, but last year I was working as a consultant (so integration wasn't such a big deal) and there was a tempting offer on MacBooks. I got one, I loved it.
After about a year, the bit of the case where you rest your palms started to crack. The intarwebs told me this was a known problem, and should be covered by warranty. I contacted on Apple service centre, to be told "no problem, just drop it in and we'll fix it." Of course, it would take two weeks, and there was no way to expedite things.
So I tried another Apple retailer, and was told to bring it in that afternoon. "Great," I thought, "this is why you pay a bit more for a Mac - service!" Unfortunately, when I got there they said the same thing - two weeks, no exceptions. After about 40 minutes of arguing and cajoling, the Genius agreed to do it there and then. Although I was pleased about this, it would have been better if they could have done it without the arguments.
I just bought a new Toshiba and passed the MacBook on to my daughter (she's a real Mac fanatic). The new PC is great, I'm surprised that I actually like Windows Vista, and it only cost UKP400. So if it goes wrong I could easily buy a replacement. I might even buy a Netbook with the cash I didn't spend getting another Mac.
My roommate spilled soup onto his Dell laptop. He immediately shut it down, tried to dry it up but the laptop didn't boot. So he called the support and on the next day a gentleman from Dell knocked on our door, replaced the motherboard and voila, the laptop was as good as new. It was interesting just to look at the man from Dell how skillfully he disassembled and reassembled the laptop.
One other friend exploits this package. When he thinks he should have a new MB or CPU or anything, he just calls them and tells it "squeaks". Next day, a man comes and replaces anything with a new piece. No questions asked.
And this package is valid throughout the world, no matter where you are. Dell rocks.
When my MBP died earlier this month I called Apple, and without any hassle whatsoever, they volunteered to replace it with a brand new unibody model.
What a world of difference in service. BTW, Toshiba charged more for the extended warranty than AppleCare.
Some statistically small time after that, I'll fail as well. Bummer.