laptops, your advice wanted

ok, i bought a macbook in june this year and it's crashed maybe 10-15 times since. plus it's taking much longer to startup nowadays. i've got a feeling that it might die on me within the next few months and i'd like your opinion. should i shell out $419 for applecare, extending the warranty to three years, (yes it costs that much here in australia) or should i keep the money and use it for a better laptop to come out next year?

>>2
ah, that was helpful, thank you. :>

no, i didn't get any extra ram, just the standard amount it comes with. i figured that it would be no big deal having an extra few seconds of loading time so i didn't add any extra, but i didn't know that a small ram would cause problems with the laptop running.