Great Balls Of Fire!!!

Nope, I'm not writing about Jerry Lee Lewis's song "Great Balls Of Fire", I'm talking about an eminent danger we IT people face with each day now. (*_*)

Yep.. It's another exploding laptop folks!!

I was surfing around the Lowyat website looking for my next IT "toy" deal when this article caught my eye --> Another exploding ThinkPad. Apparently, this is the 2nd IBM Thinkpad to explode, as there was one which exploded in LAX last week. For those who don't know, LAX = Los Angeles International Airport.

I'm getting kind of worried now as I'm sitting here at my laptop, writing this blog. (*-*)

My laptop's battery is being charged as I've used it up today. When I first got this laptop I noticed that the base got a bit too hot but now, it seems to be ok. However, I always unplug the battery once its fully charged so that I can preserve the battery as well as minimize the risk of it being blown up. |>-<| However, some thoughts are running through my head now...

1. By the action of plugging and unplugging the battery often, would it make my battery more susceptible being blown up?
2. By constantly draining it every other night and then, subsequently re-charging it back again, would it cause it to blow up?

Anyway, as I recall, some friend told me that these batteries have a certain number of charge/discharge lifecycles and that the proper way to charge the battery was to ensure that the power adapter wasn't faulty in the first place. So, in the end, your laptop will turn into a desktop. hee... (^_^)

I had a laptop with a suspected faulty power adapter once (it was a Compaq Evo) and after calling up HP support (yep, they got taken over, remember?), the kind support guy told me to bring the laptop in for servicing. I remembered asking how long it would take, and he said 3 days. I couldn't afford 3 days and besides, all the data on the laptop was sensitive (there was no PGP encryption at the time - co saw no need for it) and so, I opted for a replacement.

Anyway, that was scary because I found that the cable on the adapter was melting away (due to overheating) and the HP support guy did suggest to have the laptop checked in case, something bad happened. Never did I think about it exploding. The worse I thought was the laptop wouldn't start and that it would trip the office's power (hehehe... **evil laugh**)

Oh well, here's to all of us road warriors. Better pack a mini fire-extinguisher and watch for those tell-tale signs of when the laptop is about to explode. Should something does happen (touch wood.. NO...) remember the following,

• Run away!! Run away!!
• Run and shout "Fire in the hole!!"

Anyway, for those travelling and you need to bring your little lappie along, if you're not using it, guess its best to remove the battery away from the laptop. Since those travelling to the UK (not sure about Europe) or US need to check-in their lappie, guess this is already being done. (^_^)

So, stay safe you laptop owners out there!!!!

Anyway, some interesting pieces here:

• Gizmodo Reader Witnesses IBM Laptop Catch Fire at LAX
• ExplodingLaptop.com
• After the Thinkpad Exploded

Guess that even non-Dell laptop owners are cringing in fear now.. (o_0)