[KenWittlief]

maybe I got the model number wrong. The apple that went up in smoke was a Mac tower (~$2400) - I thought it was a G4, maybe it was a G3?

Ive been using PCs since the first ones came out back in the 80's, and Ive never had a motherboard fail like that. I think a few memory sticks, a couple hard drives that went south

but heres the thing, with a desk top PC I could get a new motherboard for less than $100, easily - or upgrade to a newer processor and board and keep everything else for a couple hundred dollars.

This Applecare thing - all you are doing is paying even more for an already expensive computer, right? If the Apple sales guy is telling you 'you really want the extended warranty" then what is he saying about Apple quality?