Ars Technica Does Coverage of 2008 Computer Reliability Report

Rescuecom, a national chain of IT support service centers, has released the results of its third annual computer reliability report, putting Apple in the top spot for the second year in a row.

The report relies on Rescuecom's "Reliability Score," which compares a computer maker's market share to the percentage of support calls received at Rescuecom's call center. Due to Apple's markedly increased market share over last year and a reduction is support calls, the company sits in the number one slot, with over 200 points separating it from number two Panasonic.

The top five companies and their scores are:

• Apple (700)
• Panasonic (489)
• Lenovo (393)
• Toshiba (299)
• HP (184)

As we noted last year, Rescuecom's methodology isn't necessarily the best to determine reliability. For instance, how many people are just going to the nearest Apple Store for service? Most other PC makers don't have a network of retail stores to provide such service.

However, Rescuecom CEO David Milman notes, "RESCUECOM has no allegiance to any hardware manufacturer, so we can provide an objective and unbiased rating of computer hardware reliability based on real-world experience." Considering the results are comparable to this year's Consumer Reports rankings, which also put Apple in the top spot, it can serve as yet another metric to consider when thinking long-term about support.