Re: Quelle Surprise
"Am I in lala land? You pay for an extended warranty, that is standard in 99% the rest of the world for free, and then PAY to also have the repairs done?"
AIUI from the article, Applecare[+] covers you for out of warranty repairs and you pay a small proportion of the repair cost, eg accidental damage such as a broken screen. Warranty repairs are still "free".
(Disclosure: I've never owned any Apple products)