Just to clarify to readers about the gremlins that my laptop suffered:
When I found out I was moving abroad for Peace Corps, I knew the one thing I could not do without is a MacBook. But like all first generational technologies, my MacBook suffered “a” gremlin. Just one. It needed a firmware update which could be easily downloaded from Apple’s site. A quick fix. However, as I was living in a village at the time, I did not have Internet connection. So yes, I was very frustrated and yes, I cursed Apple for my laptop randomly shutting down.

When I finally moved to my permanent site, I took my laptop to an Apple reseller and they installed the firmware update for me. Apple paid the tab. Since then (it’s been over a year) my laptop has been working perfectly. I love it. I use it in my volunteer work writing grants, designing brochures, creating budgets, etc. (by the way–Excel on Mac isn’t all that great because Excel is Microsoft).

My MacBook has kept me sane, assuaged my pangs of homesickness, been my main source of entertainment. It’s kept me connected to family and friends. I watch my 6-month-old nephew play and laugh. I download new music and movies off of iTunes. Until it became free on Comedy Central, I kept up to date on “real” news by downloading The Daily Show and The Colbert Report thanks to my sister’s very generous iTunes giftcard. I listen to PBS podcasts, and when I had the shingles in my eye and had to keep them closed for almost a week, I downloaded audiobooks.

If I was stuck on a dessert island (with electricity) and could bring one thing, it would be my MacBook. If my apartment caught on fire, and I could grab one thing, it would be my MacBook. If I was joining Peace Corps and moving to a developing country for 27 months, I would bring a MacBook. You get the picture.

Eric, your computer might be more than four years old. That’s ancient. I don’t think Apple’s the only computer company to not provide support for computers that old.

For those thinking about joining Peace Corps, I say go for it. It truly is a life-changing experience. But make sure to bring along a laptop — preferably an Apple.

Apple couldn’t get your Verizon Wireless card to work, but Verizon could? OH MY GOD, stop the presses! Verizon fixed their own hardware when Apple couldn’t! What’s the probability of that happening!

And okay, .Mac seems to suck as a service, but then you go on to cite Rush Limbaugh, who was having a problem with his e-mail as if his problem is representative of an epidemic? 1 person does not an epidemic make.

And your friend has an iMac that got burned out. Could we have a bit more information? Did she have it connected to a surge protector? Does she understand what a surge protector is? Did she leave it outside in a rain storm in the middle of the Amazon? No? So there was spontaneous combustion? That’s your explanation?

And the biggest thing that annoys me about articles written like this is that the writer almost always has a laptop. Before I even started reading, I said to myself, this guy has a laptop, I can just smell it. 15 percent of laptops have a hardware failure in the first year, the biggest failure rate in the computer industry. That’s the nature of the portable market, especially when computers have components that were not designed to be moved (like hard drives). If you guys would get a real computer, like I don’t know, a Mac Pro, perhaps you would have a better experience.

But then, in your concluding paragraphs, you go on to complain how “apple’s standards for reliability have declined significantly” without providing any real evidence from third parties. What no warnings from Consumer Reports or Popular Mechanics? Business Week is a, you know, business magazine. And then you insult an entire user base by referring to them as a cult (I’m sure my nine-year-old iMac using niece would agree with you) and then brace yourself for the terrifying attack that is sure to ensue.

Oh, how very mature of you. You generalize and insult 25 million Apple users and then take a macho stance, daring the “cult-like” menace to come here and increase your page count. You’re so brave.

Me, I’ll stick with my Thinkpad, which I’ve carried around the world, dropped from a 5 foot shelf, and which has required just one new display (after the crash) after four years of daily abuse.

I hate XP but I love my Thinkpad. Oh, and for you financial types, don’t even think of using Excel on the Mac. It sucks!