Do you have a MacBook or MacBook Pro? Have you noticed that its keyboard doesn’t have a “Forward Delete” (aka delete to the right) key like the one that exists on an iMac’s keyboard? This tip tells you how to perform a forward delete. Simply hold down the Function key, which is labeled “fn” while pressing the delete key. The fn key is located in the lower left corner of the keyboard.

In case the phrase “forward delete” is confusing, let me elaborate. We all know that the delete key (aka the backspace key) deletes the character to the left of the insertion point. The forward delete button does the opposite. It deletes the character to the right of the insertion point.

Forward delete is not a new feature for Macintosh laptops. All Macs laptops have supported this feature for many years, but this feature isn’t obvious or well-documented, so many users don’t know about this feature.

If you would like to learn about more keyboard shortcuts you might find this Apple web page helpful.

I strongly recommend the AppleCare Protection Plan (APP) for all MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac and MacPro purchases under most circumstances. I know that extended warranties have a poor reputation in general, but I think AppleCare is a good value for most Mac models. For the rest of this article I’ll simply refer to the AppleCare Protection Plan as AppleCare.

Every Mac computer comes with 90 days of free telephone tech support and a 1 year hardware warranty. By purchasing AppleCare, both the telephone support and hardware warranty are extended to 3 years. AppleCare covers the cost of parts as well as labor in the event of a repair.

It’s very useful to know that you can buy AppleCare as long as the original 1 year hardware warranty is still in place. Additionally, AppleCare is transferrable. If you sell your Mac within 3 years of initial purchase, AppleCare coverage transfers with the computer. This can slightly increase your Mac’s resale value, but it also gives the buyer some reassurance should they detect a hardware issue after they purchase it. AppleCare is available for all new Macs or refurbished Macs bought from Apple. It does not cover accidental damage.

MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs – The price for AppleCare is currently $249 for every laptop model except the 17″ MacBook Pro. For this model the price is $349. Apple has tiered flat-rate pricing for all laptop repairs. The last time I checked the lowest price was about $300. If your laptop is outside of it’s one-year hardware warranty and it breaks, one repair would have paid for the cost of AppleCare. Since laptops are typically carried around, they can sustain a lot of wear and tear. One repair within 3 years is not at all uncommon, thus I think it’s worthwhile to purchase AppleCare for MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs. Over a dozen years, I have owned 4 Mac laptops. I know that I’ve bought AppleCare for at least the last 3 and used it on each of them. One had the CD/DVD drive and a fan replaced. On two of them the motherboard was replaced. All of these repairs were fully covered by AppleCare.

iMacs and MacPros – AppleCare for iMacs costs $169. AppleCare for MacPros costs $249. iMacs and MacPros repairs are not tied to tiered, flat-rate pricing. Each replacement part is priced individually. While fans and other small components may be inexpensive, Apple’s labor rate is around $90-100 per hour. So again, AppleCare quickly pays for itself. AppleCare covers the monitor built-into the iMac. In addition to the computer itself, AppleCare also covers an external monitor purchased at the same time as the Mac.

Since AppleCare can be purchased at any time within the first year of initial purchase, I have some clients who don’t purchase AppleCare initially for their iMacs or Mac Pros. Instead, they wait 6 to 9 months to see how the Mac performs and then make a decision. The first 6 months of a computer’s life is not necessarily a good indication of how it’ll perform after 2.5 years of use, but if the Mac has problems in the first 6 months then it seems prudent to buy the insurance of AppleCare in case other problems develop.

I typically don’t recommend AppleCare protection for Mac minis as strongly since AppleCare costs $149 but the price of the mini might be as little as $600. If a business were buying a Mac mini server or if a person were purchasing an Apple laptop at the same time as the Mac mini, then I would recommend it more strongly.

I don’t recommend AppleCare for iPhones, iPods, iPads or AppleTV either due to the relatively low price or the fact that the devices are more likely to be dropped or stolen than require a repair due to a part defect.

[Update March 2013: AppleCare for iPhones and iPads is now AppleCare+. These plans now cover up to two incidents of accidental damage for a service fee of $49 each incident. Coverage may be purchased within the first 30 days of ownership, but purchased at a different time than the device, the device will require a Genius Bar appointment prior to AppleCare purchase to verify that it is in undamaged condition before being covered. For more details you can visit the AppleCare page for iPhone or iPad.]

Another option for iPhone and iPad repair in the Seattle area is JCD Repair. They let you schedule an appointment and tell you the full repair price up front.

If you buy your Mac using a major credit card, the credit card company might double the manufacturer’s warranty. Please call your credit card company to verify and get the details. One client was able to get their iMac’s replacement motherboard covered by their credit card company due to this coverage. The client had to pay for the repair up front, then they were subsequently reimbursed after submitting the requisite paperwork. Utilizing this coverage is not as quick and easy as AppleCare, but this protection could help you if you didn’t buy AppleCare within the first year.

Some homeowners insurance policies or specific riders might be a reason to not buy AppleCare. Some insurance policies even cover accidental cover that is not covered by AppleCare.

All batteries will eventually experience diminished efficiency, storage capacity and will need to be replaced. However, regularly recalibrating your Lithium-ion battery will help to prolong your battery’s life and health, which will help reduce the frequency with which you’ll have to buy a new battery.

Apple recommends recalibrating your battery at time of purchase and then every few months after that. Battery University recommends recalibrating your battery every 30 charge/discharge cycles. Apple provides written instructions on how to recalibrate your battery. For years, I had a repeating event on my iCal calendar that sent me an email reminder which included a copy of Apple’s instructions. Recently, I started using Watts (30-day free trial, then $6.95) which lets me monitor the health of my battery, reminds me to calibrate my battery, then guides me through it.

Apple indicates that one should expect current Mac laptop batteries to retain 80% of their charge capacity after 1000 full charge/discharge cycles. Watts lets you keep an eye on this and alerts you if your battery is unhealthy and needs to be replaced. If you have the Growl notification application installed, Watts can be configured to display useful notifications and reminders to recalibrate your battery. I recommend Watts. Check it out, you might find it helpful.

Here’s a copy of Apple’s current instructions for recalibrating your battery if you own a MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air or PowerBook G4 with a dual-layer DVD drive.

• Plug in the power adapter and fully charge your PowerBook’s battery until the light ring or LED on the power adapter plug changes to green and the onscreen meter in the menu bar indicates that the battery is fully charged.
• Allow the battery to rest in the fully charged state for at least two hours. You may use your computer during this time as long as the adapter is plugged in.
• Disconnect the power adapter while the computer still on and start running the computer off battery power. You may use your computer during this time. When your battery gets low, the low battery warning dialog appears on the screen.
• At this point, save your work.  Continue to use your computer; when the battery gets very low, the computer will automatically go to sleep.
• Turn off the computer or allow it to sleep for five hours or more.
• Connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged again.

Personally, I find it inconvenient to try to incorporate the above recalibration process into my day-to-day use of my laptop. Thus, I tend to do this on a Friday evening, when I’m done using the computer for the night. I save all of my documents and quit all applications on the laptop. Then, I open a QuickTime movie and set it to loop continuously. I then disconnect the power cord so the laptop is running on battery. Sometime during the night, the laptop’s battery will be depleted and the laptop will automatically go to sleep. Then it can sit there for a number of hours. On Saturday morning, I”ll connect the charger to charge it up, which can take a couple of hours. When I’m ready to use the laptop the battery is fully charged and ready to go.