Buying a MacBook at Best Buy
I wouldn't trust going to Best Buy, period. It would be more worth it if you went to another Apple store or waiting for new BlackBooks to arrive at the one you were just at. Things at Best Buy (especially MBs) might not have the full benefits as you would with the Apple store.
Actually, they could have more. I had a problem b/c my new MB had some issues and I should have just exchanged it at BB, but went to the Apple Store thinking it'd be a quick (2-3 day?) repair... and, it spent about 2 weeks here and there, eventually ending up with them, indeed, just giving me a replacement.
So, partly my fault, given that it was the 1st week, should have exchanged it at BB.
Anyway, the advantage is that you _can_ get the BB warranty instead of AppleCare if you buy it at BB, and it covers more things. Surges and accidental damage (to some point). I think the coverage was a little less money too.
So did I? No. Why? Best I can tell, irrational brand loyalty. AppleCare "felt" better.
I can tell ya, though, I'm definitely taking any future repairs to a local authorized shop rather than having the retail store mail it out to Kansas or wherever. That way I can use it while they order the part, and I can ASK THE TECHNICIAN what's going on with it instead of trying to get through several levels of Apple "customer service" people, none of whom can tell me anything that the tech hasn't typed into the service ticket.
** The issue was primarily the internal iSight whine problem. If camera was on and you used the mic, you'd get a whine (varying with the scene) in your audio. Same goes for if the backlight was at anything but 0 or 100%. And, the fan made some noise, sometimes, when you pressed on the palm-rest areas. That last thing, of course, an intermittent, is what held it up for over a week.
The new one? Still has some whine, but much less. I suspect they all have it to some level. I dunno - anyone willing to check? Make a video recording (QT pro, BBtv maybe) with the mic gain at max, in a quiet room.
And, to be fair, I tried my old iBook G4. No camera, but sure enough, there's a little whine if the backlight isn't all the way on or off.
