<p>The thing to do on the future purchase is to make sure you have insurance that’ll cover things like a spill or drop. You can get it either through the laptop manufacturer (I don’t know about Apple but Dell has it) or various insurance programs. </p>
<p>Seconding the advice by ‘BunsenBurner’ - make sure you pull the hard drive out first so whoever ends up with the remnants doesn’t end up with her data.</p>
<p>Absolutely regarding the hard drive!!! There’s no way that’s going anywhere than with us.</p>
<p>We have electrical/mechanical equipment breakdown coverage on our homeowners insurance policy. D’s Macbook died a couple months ago, a year after the extended warranty expired. We’ll have to pay the $500 deductible, but the insurance will pay the rest for a new Macbook. It’s better than paying the full amount!</p>