I've never gotten applecare because 90% of what can go wrong I can fix. The cost is fairly high for what you get, and odds are good anything that will break will break in the first year. Things that break later are likely gonna be covered by a recall or easily fixable.
alternate point of view: if you're going to use your laptop outside, I've never seen a laptop that will work worth a shit. For other regular use, the glossy macbook screen is fine, and most situations, the display looks great.
If anyone's interested, I've got a travelpro briefcase/overnight carry-on with backpack straps I bought back when I was a road warrior but rarely used. I'm not really a backpack type, so it's spent most of it's life in my basement. Has a clever suspension pocket for laptops, and a decent amount of space.
I think that was a great first post, honestly. Welcome, and I'm sure your Stax Mafia recruiter will be contacting you shortly.
You were grandfathered in, but did inspire that clause
You can get software to have the mac write to ntfs no problem. I found and installed it in under 5 minutes at danjam. I'm sure it hasn't gotten worse since then. Just search for "leopard ntfs" or something like that...
They make gold foil refillable kcups, maybe adding more coffee? I'm deathly afraid of weak coffee, so i use absurd quantities of coffee when I brew it. Or use my aeropress.