What are you realistaclly looking to spend?
my wife has one...
it has been upkept with the 3 year protection plan since we got it, so it works fine....
she is really eyeing an ipad....

So, I'm on the Internet last night, no problem. I get up this morning and it's as if my Mac doesn't even recognize that it has an airPort card installed. There's nothing there. I've been through network diagnostics, tried turning on airPort there, to no avail. The airport "number" at the bottom is all zeroes. Anybody know the solution before I call apple, because I'm not sure if my free 90 days are up.

That 2 (or is it 3?) year warranty is such a great option. I got 1 hour hardware fixes or overnight replacements totaling at least $600 for that $120 (?) investment. And 7 years later, the thing is still kickin without any significant problems.

You need a time machine to go back and make the correct decision.

Alrighty, any good utility/maintenance programs for mac that are free? I looked at onyx but I just don't know enough.

Whatchyou trying to fix dude?

You can just run the built in "Disk Utility" once if you start to see crashes, noticeable slowness or funkyness.
Once every few years you might need the OSX install disc if it asks you for that.
I've never really had to run anything beyond that.

Just a little funkyness. And this idiot was unfamiliar with the existence of the built in Disk Utility. Still feeling my way. Thanks