I bought mine from BudsGunShop.com and got it toward the end of February (I want to say around the 25th or so?).

My owner's manual has a Blue star stamped on the back cover. If you look toward the lower righthand corner (on the back of the manual below the S&W address), there should be a revision number.

Mine says: REV:MP15-22_121709. I "think" this indicates the revision date for this particular manual which I interpret as being on/about 12/17/09. So I think it's pretty current. And my manual has TWO pages discussing recommended ammo (I've never seen any gun manufacturer go to such length regarding different brands of ammo).

And yeah I was worried about having to send mine back for repairs too but so far, I've been lucky I guess. Mine does not have Blue springs but the extractor seems to be an updated version (there's another thread that discusses this and the OP posted actual pictures of the older extractor vs. the revised one). Some VERY thoughtful guys/gals on this forum

I put 525 rounds through it this past Monday and experienced 1 FTE (toward the very end of my shooting period and the chamber/extractor appeared to be dirty). And today I put another 525 rounds through it and zero issues. I cleaned it very thoroughly in between these two sessions and I think if you keep everything clean (and use lubrication sparingly), load each magazine properly, and stick to quality high velocity .22LR ammo you'll be ok

Oh, your wife is going to LOVE shooting this gun (my girlfriend had a "blast" shooting it!)