Well, since my computer died for no good reason whatsoever and there's no cheap way to repair it, I thought I'd check whether I am expecting too much.

So, my mac mini just died, few months after the 1 year warranty expired. Fixing it is as expensive as buying a new one. I had refused to purchase the optional 2 more years of warranty for 150, since this is 1/4 of the cost of the computer itself. In fact I was pretty pissed off at Apple because the several times I've called them with a problem they didn't seem to care at all what I'm having issues with, but were quite pushy to sell me the extended warranty. In fact the last time the douchebag tried to tell me how great of a thing it is, my response was 'If Apple cannot make a computer that lasts more than a year I am just going to have to find a company that can'. Now I have the opportunity to live up to my cockyness.

I have built (or ordered to be built) computers from commodity parts by the tens and the hundreds and that has been quite successful, but specialized brand name computers (e.g. laptops, and the mini is really a laptop w/o the screen) are a whole other thing.

So, my questions are:
- do you expect your computers to last more than 1 year?
- do you purchase the extended warranty?
- is 1/4 of the computer cost acceptable amount for a 2 year warranty, beyond 1st year?

I had considered these questions when I was deciding on it and my answers were no, so I have taken the risk and I'm paying for it now. I am just curious what others do, as I may be misunderestimating that risk.