How Reliable Is The Macbook?

Ok, I'm just about to pull the trigger on purchasing my first mac product. However, I am still a bit hesitant due to my past experiences with Apple. I've had 4 ipods (different models) replaced by Apple over the last 3 years due to hardware failures that were in no way a fault of my own. I took excellent care of them and time and time again the wheels would lock up, the batteries would fail, the player would lock, etc. In short, every Apple product I've ever owned has been defective. However, since having the opportunity to play around with a Macbook over the holidays I have really fallen in love with them. I've read that they have better than average reliability, but I still have this small voice inside my head telling me that I'm making a mistake. Please be honest and tell me if the Macbook is a reliable machine. I can't afford to throw money away on something that is constantly going to give me grief. I understand that there are always going to be lemons but overall, what is your opinion on the reliability of the Macbook? Thanks!

Well Tex it's kind of hard to say. No one can really predict what's going to happen. I've been on these boards longer than most. I've seen people complain about a myriad of problems relating to various Apple products. Of course I guess I can expect that since this is where people with problems with said Apple products come when the have trouble.
I have an iMac G5 which when it was released had all sorts of trouble (if you looked on the discussion board) yet I haven't had any trouble what so ever even though I've had it almost 2 years. I bought my MacBook 4 days after they were released and have yet to have trouble. I bought a Shuffle and used it for over a year and it freaked out one day. That was taken care of with an update. I have a Nano now and use it everyday. It sometimes locks up and I have to reset it. Not that happy about it but it's not really a big deal.
I've owned about 15 Apple computers/products over the years and with the exception of a modem that went out I really haven't had a true problem. Maybe I've been lucky or maybe the few (yeah it looks like a lot) people that post here have be unlucky. I've seen people here that have not only had a problem but have had multiple problems repaired, replaced, etc.
I guess what I'm getting at is there's really no guarantee to say you're going to be happy but there's obviously something that's drawing you to the MacBook. Feel the Force Luke.

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    [http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2824649 Australis Guide for Normal People]
    Adapt or perish - but in computerese, adapt by using add-ons or code to change what you don't like, as best you can
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