If you're talking about a $10,000 reflow oven with tight PID control where you set the profile and go you'd be correct. if you're talking about a kitchen oven with cheap setpoint control that has a tendency to waaay overshoot, you're best off to aim a few 10's of degrees low.

Depends on the alloy, tin/bismuth will melt around 140C. I would've expected over 180C to be necessary as well though. Sn63Pb37 is very common and melts at 180C, but since it has lead I don't think it's used much in large scale electronics manufacture.

If your electronics are RoHS compliant (they are), there is no lead.

Apple's laptops are RoHS, so the melting point of that lead-free solder should be even higher than 183 C.

And all the joints look like cold solder joints instead of nice, shiny but toxic, lead-filled goodness.

I use lead-free solder for hobby work. A good joint is still shiny as you'd expect.

I basically notice no difference, except the need for a higher working temperature.

I read somewhere the xbox gpu problem was a result of the lead-free solder used to meet environmental regulations.

You're blaming RoHS on Obama?

Must have been fond of lead paint as a kid.