laptop batteries

Laptop batteries that won't die

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 06:59:58 -0500

Laptop batteries were never meant to die. But plenty of CIOs have a different kind of experience. Even when fully charged, a laptop battery might last for half the trip across the country, not even even a full non-stop flight. And plenty of executives know that carrying a spare makes for an awkward juggling experience on a crowded plane.

Now a professor at Stanford University has come up with a way of creating longer-life lithium batteries. Yi Cui, assistant professor of Materials Science and Engineering, has developed a way for batteries to produce 10 times the electricity that most batteries are able to do. And that results in as much as 20 hours of device power, nearly enough to fly from New York to Africa without changing batteries or halting your laptop work.

The technology is simple. Instead of using carbon inside a battery, silicon is used in the battery's anode. The silicon can hold much more lithium than carbon. Cui's battery also uses nanotechnology to increase capacity. Cui has already filed a patent, and he is considering the formation of a company that sells these batteries. As the world gets smaller, so does the technology that drives it around. We can only ask: What's coming next?

For more on charging batteries:
- Check out this CIO Magazine Article

ALSO NOTED: Firefox: over 125 million served; IBM sues over flammable laptop batteries;

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:59:51 -0500

> IBM sues over counterfeit, flammable laptop batteries. Article
> 8GB Asus Eee PC gets spec'd, priced, is now available. Article
> Tiny PC is dirt and waterproof. Article
> This holiday, give the gift of iPod repair. Article
> Samsung announces the world's fastest memory...again. Article
> AMD CEO Hector Ruiz claims that Intel "copied everything from AMD." Article
> Firefox: over 125 million served. Article

And Finally... Re-purpose an old CRT monitor as a cat bed. Seriously. Article

Nokia to recall 46 million mobile phone batteries

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 06:59:59 -0400

Just yesterday, we were furrowing our brows at the thought of Toshiba recalling a paltry 1,400 laptop batteries, blissfully unaware that today would bring a battery recall a few orders of magnitude larger. Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone vendor, announced that it will recall and replace 46 million mobile phone batteries, free of charge. The batteries in question (all of which bear the model number BL-5C) were produced by Japanese manufacturer Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006 and in some instances, can pose a safety hazard. Apparently, a short circuit can occur while the battery is charging, causing it to overheat and expand. According to Nokia, 100 cases of overheating have been reported thus far, though "[n]o serious injuries or property damage have been reported."

For more on the massive recall:
- see this press release

Check to see if your battery is affected:
- see this product advisory

Toshiba announces third Sony battery recall

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Oh, you have got to be kidding me. The latest development in a story that's been going on for so agonizingly long that I've run out of clever ways to introduce it, is that Toshiba is announcing round three of its Sony battery recalls--almost a full year after the battery recall saga began. The latest Toshiba machines to get the recall treatment are Satellite A100 and A105 and Tecra A7 models sold between January and April of 2006. While there are only about 1,400 affected machines this time around, Toshiba's grand total now stands at around 850,000.

For more on the recall:
- see the list of affected models
- and this Engadget article

Sony, Apple sued over exploding battery

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Having begrudgingly recalled more than 10 million laptop batteries due to overheating, flaming and exploding incidents last year, you'd think Sony would have been hit with more lawsuits from consumers. It comes as a bit of a surprise, then, that this is the first that we've heard of: A Japanese couple has filed a lawsuit against Sony and Apple in the Osaka District Court, over a notebook that spontaneously burst into flames in April of last year. Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the man suffered burns on his finger while his wife was forced to seek medical treatment due to distress resulting from the incident. The couple is asking for a modest 2 million Yen in compensation (around $16,700 USD). While that might not seem like much, it's not a surprising number considering the nature of litigation in Japan, where such suits brought by consumers are relatively scarce and big cash settlements are even more scarce. Could this be the suit that opens the floodgates wide? Sony certainly hopes not: the company is predicted to have lost as much as $300 million last year as a direct result of the battery fiasco.

For more on the suit:
- see this article from the International Herald Tribune

Sony battery fiasco flares on: Toshiba joins recall

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Like that cut in your mouth that never heals, an old flame you can never seem to forget or a scandal that just won't blow over, the laptop battery recall has proven to be a thorn in the side of Sony that the company can't seem to remove. After months upon months of recalls, it seemed like it was all finally behind us...but we were wrong. Almost a year after the first cells went up in smoke, Toshiba has announced it will recall 10,000 Sony-manufactured laptop batteries for the usual reasons--those being that the batteries in question could catch fire or explode when in use. We'll assume Sony will be adding these to the pile of almost 10 million batteries recalled last year--a stockpile that would make for an impressive arsenal of explosives, should Sony decide to resell them.

For more on the recall:
- see this Engadget story

Dell hit with class action suit over Sony batteries

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:01:39 -0500

Thought the exploding laptop battery fiasco was finally over? You wish. While the fires started by Sony batteries may have finally died down, it looks like the lawsuits are just starting to heat up. Thad Griffin, a resident of Ontario, Canada, has filed a class-action suit on behalf of Dell Inspiron laptop users, claiming design defects in certain models of Inspiron make the computers susceptible to overheating, which can result in early motherboard failure. The case calls for Dell to either repair or replace the affected laptops--many of which are now out of warranty. The affected models of Inspiron are as follows: 1100, 1150, 5100, 5150 and 5160. While Dell recalled a whopping 4.1 million batteries (manufactured by Sony) back in August, this suit seems to suggest design flaws may exist elsewhere in the machines that make them vulnerable to overheating. If you've deployed any of those Inspirons in your enterprise (and I'm sure many of you have), this case might be one to watch closely.

For more on the lawsuit:
- see this CNET article

Recalling what went wrong in 2006

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 19:01:39 -0500

A look back at IT in 2006 yields both laughter and tears, achievements and failures and an in-depth perspective on where things are headed. One of the most interesting, and entertaining, aspects of reviewing this past year is taking a look at the missteps that were made. The arrival of Vista is a prime example of how technology can be delayed and then, upon arrival, be tarnished immediately by security issues. Then there's the corporate scandals such as Sony's rootkit fiasco and HP's use of illegal technology to spy on board members. Oh, and laptop batteries came under fire, literally. There's almost too many boo-boos to list.

Get a closer look back at what went wrong in 2006:
- read the article at PCWorld

IEEE accelerates new battery standard

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 19:01:37 -0500

It's not often that a standards body moves quickly on anything, so when one does, you had better take notice. Spurred, no doubt, by a summer full of exploding laptop batteries, the IEEE has decided to accelerate the schedule for its Standard for Rechargeable Batteries for Portable Computing. The group working on the standard met for the first time last month and announced that a new standard would be ratified within 18 months--they've since revised that estimate to twelve months. That would put the IEEE on track for having a new standard ready by the end of 2007. "About 50 people from 30 companies attended, representing the entire global supply chain for batteries used in portable computing from cell manufacturers to OEMs, including third-party test and certification bodies," reported Dell's Bill Kabele.

For more on the new standard:
- see this Ars Technica article

ALSO NOTED: Vista sucking laptop batteries dry; HP settles for $14.5M for spying actions; and much more...

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 19:01:33 -0500

> Vista sucking laptop batteries dry. Article

> HP settles for $14.5M for spying actions. Article

> Sun CTO envisions just a few super computing services in the future. Article

> The generational gap for instant message use. Article

> Engineering group okays new networking standard. Article

And Finally... A guide for finishing up that last-minute shopping. Article