don't worry about .Mac. it's free for 2 months to see if you like it when you buy a Mac.
you also get another free trial every time you do an re-install of your system on your hdd.
i don't use it, and a lot of others don't use it either. HOWEVER it does help newbies a bit with their tutorials. and you get an email account with it. i personally never liked the email account (but it is a status thing to have a .mac email account)
get a mac. you'll be happy.
if you want to spend the money, procare is a better alternative -- if you live somewhat near an apple store. it gives you personalized tutoring on macs andnearly every application you might want to use, as well as express help on your mac should you ever need repair.
applecare is almost a must if you get a laptop -- but wait until the 1st year is nearly up before you buy it. you may decide to upgrade by then (or heaven forbid you lose it or a truck runs over it -- in which case the money is wasted)
consider -- if you buy a macbook for $1000. at the end of a year you have a year old macbook worth what? is it worth spending 350 for 2 years warranty on a used year-old computer? yes, it's worth it if you're going to keep it for 2 more years -- no if you think you might want to upgrade to a snazzier model. that's why i say to wait until near the end of the original warranty period. (but it does give you unlimited phone support for the entire time.)
