I had never heard of YLOD before. It typically seems to be a fairly serious hardware problem. The PS3 has a monster quad-core processor, to my knowledge, although I don't believe something should be on the market if it can overheat in routine situations so easily.
From what I understand, the problem seems to occur mainly in both the original and 2nd generation/SKU PS3 models which were produced between 2006 and early 2008. Models from early 2008 forward introduced a newer 65nm core processor as opposed to the original 90nm core and therefore consumed less power and generated less heat, resulting in fewer failures. It remains to be seen if the 2008 and forward models and of course the newer slim models, which now have a 45nm core processor, will be more relaible over time. One would certainly assume so. But perhaps in 2012, we'll find slims dropping all over the place.
I feel I should make one point to counter this. A friend of mine managed to get his hands on one of the first batch of PS3s sold in the US (Fall of 2006). He uses it regularly and it's still going strong, so there's certainly hope that the problem is not as wide spread as it seems to be. But at the time, he paid >$700 for his PS3. I paid $399 for mine, 22 months ago. (Actually, it was a bit less with an Amazon instant coupon.
) The slim is now $299 and there are rumors floating of another price drop to $249 sometime this fall. If it does, I may actually consider just selling mine and buying a new slim. At that price point, it seems to be a safer bet.
There's a similar thing with Apple; a friend uses the term "Apple Timer", as Apple products all seem to break so needlessly after some period.
Sorry, but I have to call Bull:censored:! on this one. I'm going to morph into an Apple fan boy here but I have to say it. I've been a Mac user since the late 80s and have owned nearly a dozen in the last 22 years. I also worked as an IT professional in a mixed platform enviornment for several years in the late 90s and have a lot of experience with PCs and Macs.
Personal experiencing can of course vary. And if your friend has had bad luck, well, it may be just that. I have a 1986 Mac SE that still boots up reliably with OS 6.1. Correct me if I'm wrong, Alan but I think that computer is older than you are. Over the last 10~12 years, there's been a trend from Apple to standardize certain components (moving from SCSI Hard drives to IDE, than ATA than SATA, ADP ports to USB, NuBus architecture to PCI and finally from PowerPC processors to Intel). And as such, they are no more or no less reliable than your average, top dollar PC. However, I've never known Apple to use sub-standard peripherals and from my years of experience, with a handful of known exceptions, their computers have been generally bullet proof. I know there's a lot of 'sour grapes' among the Irish after Apple shut the plant in Cork.
But in any event, I don't want to drag this too far off topic.
)to drop into the 58's
Oh boy...I'm really sorry to hear this. How old is your PS3 Vompatti? Is it one of the first generation? I have a fat PS3 myself but it's, I think 2nd or 3rd generation with the 80GB HD and 65-nm processor. And it's in a cool basement so it never seems to run hot. I have my game saves on a thumb drive but I'm thinking it's probably best if I would do a complete back-up as stories like this make me nervous. 
My PS3 is the FAT 40GB job. I got it in 2006 and have yet to have a problem with it. (Is that some kind of record or what!) I do keep it in my basement, but I've only once bothered to vacuum it. It sounds like I'd better start saving for a new one though as apparently I'm already on the outside of the curve as far as lifespan. 
