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I like the environmental prospective. Where can one drop off old personal electrical equipment tomorrow at the east lansing project pride? Firm. -----Original Message----- From: "Hoort, Brian" <[log in to unmask]> To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]> Sent: 5/30/08 10:37 AM Subject: Re: [MSUNAG] Dell service -> what warranties make sense cost/benefit wise? This past fall, while all of the office-supply and electronics big-box stores were courting prospective college freshman (and their parents) with laptop sales and rebates, I purchased an Acer laptop (with which I've been most happy with, despite my fears) for $450 after a $200 rebate. Of course it came with a one year warranty. The sales clerk attempted the hard-sell for extended coverage for one year for $150. I believe this covered most accidental damage. An hour later, after opening the box, I discovered a note inside from Acer offering a year of coverage for $100. In retrospect, I don't believe this probably covered accidental. I called my insurance agent, and discussed adding the computer with an "anything goes" style accidental coverage policy, and it was significantly less than $100 per year. Of course, I understand that the type of "coverage" would be very different in this case, still, this might be an option worth mentioning to parents. I did not purchase any extended coverage. If the laptop breaks, I'll research repairing it myself, and likely purchase another. Purchasing a $3000 laptop every four years doesn't pay. If you count on a $500 laptop lasting two years, you can have two $500 laptops in a four year period, and the second will be faster than the 4 yr. old $3000 one, for a cost of $1000. That said, this idea of disposable computers bothers me a great deal from an environmental perspective. Properly disposing of these cheap machines is critical. Incidentally, tomorrow is East Lansing's Project Pride -- I'll be recycling a box of electrical components there, including two old laptops of the $3000 variety. Brian Hoort