The Plan does not cover:

Damage to the Covered Equipment caused by accident, abuse, neglect, misuse (including faulty installation, repair, or maintenance by anyone other than Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider), unauthorized modification, extreme environment (including extreme temperature or humidity), extreme physical or electrical stress or interference, fluctuation or surges of electrical power, lightning, static electricity, fire, acts of God or other external causes.

• AirPort Extreme Card
• AirPort Express
• AirPort Extreme Base Station
• Apple-branded DVI to ADC display adapter
• Apple RAM modules
• MacBook Air SuperDrive

The following is a re-enactment of the mysterious and sudden failure of Megan Lavey's MacBook.

It was the evening of Tuesday, July 14, 2009. Megan Lavey heads out to the movies to watch the eagerly anticipated Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince. But the excitement of the night was short lived.

Upon her arrival home, Megan found her MacBook in an unconscious state. She tried several attempts to revive it: plugging it and unplugging it, removing and reinserting the battery, as well as performing an SMC reset. However, these attempts proved futile.

In a last ditch effort, Megan made an emergency visit to her local Apple store to meet with a genius. They had both good news and bad news. The good news was that they identified the problem with her MacBook (the logic board) and could save it, but -- and here comes the bad news -- could cost up $750 to repair. What's worse, Megan didn't have AppleCare coverage. In a state of shock and sadness, Megan leaned on the shoulders of her fellow TUAWers, each of whom offered words of encouragement her:

Chris Rawson: "My wife's mid-2007 MacBook is having the exact same issue right now. Luckily, it's covered by AppleCare, and going to the local repair place ASAP."

Erica Sadun: "":( :( :(""

Sang Tang: "Hey, this would make an interesting post. I'm going to write something on this."

There are many Megans in the world, and each is faced with the difficult task of deciding whether or not a repair is worth its cost. It's also times like these that one regrets not purchasing AppleCare, for often times repair costs outweigh the cost of AppleCare. And this raises the question. Should you purchase AppleCare? Several months back, TUAW's Robert Palmer penned a piece on why he believes AppleCare is worth it. This post expands upon that and provides examples of when AppleCare is and isn't justified.

We've all had an "oh poopie" moment involving liquids: Time slows down, you watch as the glass tips over, its contents cascading (beautifully, in another context perhaps) over the rim and onto the table. The rivulets of beverage roll in a miniscule tidal wave across the surface, over the edge, and drip to the floor. All in the span of a few seconds.

The worst part is when there's a computer between the cup and the table. That's when an oops becomes a crisis.

What's the best thing to do when there's a spill on your laptop? Keep calm and carry on:

1. Don't panic.

First, know that your data is safe. Hard drives -- while not hermetically sealed -- are tightly put together. If you act quickly, you can prevent the liquid from getting to your hard disk, and damaging your valuable data. (I'll save the bad news for later.)

2. Turn off the computer.

Even before you run to get a towel, turn the computer off. If you can't shut it down normally (the keyboard won't respond for example), try pressing the power button for several seconds to force the computer to shut down. Unplug the laptop, and disconnect any cables and USB devices.

3. With the lid open, turn the computer upside down.

This prevents the liquid from getting too far into the computer. While the computer is upside down, remove the battery and set it aside.

4. Wipe up the liquid.

All joking aside: use toilet paper. Ounce for ounce, it's the most absorbent material you're likely to have handy. It's also thin, so it can reach down into crevices in and around your keyboard to soak up the liquid. This is especially important for sugary drinks like colas and juice: Sugars are sticky, and if they dry, you'll have a bigger problem.

Next: If you're prepared, you can take your computer apart to clean up any liquid inside.

All day on December 25, TUAW presents "Now What?" We've got first steps and recommendations for all the Apple gifts you (hopefully!) found under the tree today. Happy holidays! If you're a Mac veteran, send a link to this post to the switcher on your holiday list.

Merry Christmas, new Mac owner. First of all, congratulations! Welcome to the family. There's some eggnog on the table, and feel free to put your coat on the bed. Setting up your new Mac is a famously easy experience. It should take about 10 minutes, depending on the kind of Mac you bought, and where you want to put it.

Once you have your new Mac on your desk, it will take you through a short setup process to personalize your new machine. You'll choose a username, a password, and will be given the option to register your Mac and sign up for MobileMe, if you want. (You can register and sign up for MobileMe later, if you don't do it now.)

If you bought any applications along with your Mac (like Microsoft Office, for example), you can install them very easily. Just insert the disc, and either drag the application to your Applications folder (on your hard disk) or double-click the installer application. You can eject the disc when you're done by dragging it to the Trash, or pressing the eject key on your keyboard.

For Windows compatibility, get your Windows XP (SP2 or SP3) or Windows Vista disc ready, and double click the Boot Camp Assistant in the Utilities folder (it's inside your Applications folder). Boot Camp Assistant will walk you through the process of installing Windows on your Mac. It's not difficult, but it will take a little time. Once Windows is installed, you can hold down the Option key before your computer boots to choose which operating system to run, or select a permanent preference via the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences. You can read more switcher-specific tips in our Switchers category.

If you're switching to the Mac platform from the PC, I might humbly suggest you read Part 1 and Part 2 of my experience introducing my dad to the Mac. He was a hard-core PC user until he fell in love with his Mac mini.

Continue reading for a few best bets about how to extend and protect your new Mac.

With the holidays approaching, I know more than one family will be getting a new Mac. Many first time buyers whom I've guided through the purchase of their first Mac ask me, "is AppleCare worth it?"

For your new Mac, absolutely; I speak from first-hand experience. Now, I'm a pretty capable guy. I can fix application problems, recover data, and reinstall operating systems like a champ. I've replaced power supplies, installed memory, and upgraded hard disks. I thought I didn't need AppleCare. That is, until I bought my iMac G5 a few years ago.

It was a great computer, but it had some manufacturing defects that reared their ugly heads well after the standard one year warranty expired. Turns out I needed a new logic board (or motherboard, for our PC friends). Outside of the one year warranty, that was a $900 proposition.

It sounds like the plot of a Roger Corman film, I know, but as reported on our sister blog, apparently swaths of Texas are being overrun by "Crazy Rasberry Ants," named for their discoverer (and exterminator) Tom Rasberry, not for the tasty fruit.

The ants, for some reason, are attracted to electrical equipment, including your Mac. A friendly chat with an AppleCare representative revealed that AppleCare policies do not cover insect infestation. Instead, the rep helpfully suggested that your renter's or homeowner's policy might cover the computer instead.

The ants arrived in the U.S. via a shipping container. They reproduce quickly, and are very difficult to kill. Might be worth it to keep an eye out. Apparently, they've been spotted near Johnson Space Center, and who knows what secrets they could be after.

Doug Toombs from Howard Forums tipped us off that those refurb AT&T iPhones many TUAW readers bought a few weeks ago might not have properly issued warranties. He sent me over to Apple's warranty self-checking site and sure enough my new iPhone's limited warranty is due to expire on July 22nd.

I gave Apple a call at 1-800-694-7466. I was given the standard Apple line: they do not offer a full year warranty on refurbs. Your warranty ends a year from when the iPhone was originally sold and activated. She then connected me to AT&T, which promptly hung up on me.

So I called back. The sticker on the AT&T box says clearly: "Refurbished iPhones have a full 1 year warranty. You must retain receipt for warranty claims through Apple."

Second time around, I got the most fabulous agent. She contacted the agreement administrator and within a few minutes my warranty was extended to 03/2009, no fuss, no muss. I'm kicking myself though that I did not check into whether I could extend the warranty after that year through AppleCare--so if you find out, do let us know in the comments. Thanks!

Anyway, to summarize: I did need to confirm a valid AT&T account, explaining that I was upgrading from my 4GB to my new 8GB. I offered to send a picture of the sticker on the AT&T box but the agent said this had to be a known problem and that she didn't need either that or the receipt. I also took advantage of the Apple call-you-back service. Instead of waiting on line, they automagically take your number and call it back when you're ready to hit the head of the queue. Very convenient.