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Alan Cox's Exploding Laptop

Posted by Zonk on Sun Sep 24, 2006 01:26 AM
from the a-famous-exploding-laptop dept.
IBM It's funny. Laugh. Sony Hardware
Bowie J. Poag writes to mention a page put up to commemorate the explosion of Alan Cox's laptop. From the article: "Alan was on the other side of the room from the laptop. I was elsewhere. He yelled out, I ambled towards the room in my own good time, and then I heard 'Fire! Real fire! Call the fire brigade, now!' and I speeded up a bit. From Alan subsequently, I gather there was an explosion and flying pieces of laptop, and a fireball, and a couple of fires started where (presumably) boiling battery landed, and one fragment smashed an LCD monitor. And then there was smoke and smell (there is still smell) and smoke alarm wailing and firemen and sirens and paramedics (happily unneeded) and police and a man with a notebook asking questions for the fire report.'"
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Alan Cox's Exploding Laptop 50 Comments More /

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  • His own fault... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Pink Tinkletini (978889) on Sunday September 24 2006, @01:31AM (#16172801) Homepage
    ...for buying an IBM ThinkPad, notorious for their unreliability. Perhaps he should have considered an Apple or Dell instead.

    • Re:His own fault... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by AKAImBatman (238306) * <akaimbatman@ g m a i l . com> on Sunday September 24 2006, @01:47AM (#16172871) Homepage Journal
      Perhaps he should have considered an Apple or Dell instead.

      Or perhaps he should have bought his battery in shrinkwrap from a reputable dealer rather than getting an after-market battery off of eBay? Even if it's a "genuine" IBM, for all he knows he ended up with a recall unit that somehow (*cough*) got resold on the open market.

      There are some things you DO NOT trust after-market vendors for. One of those things happens to be a highly explosive Lithium Ion battery pack. There are enough problems with the first party units to give pause to anyone even considering third party units. Getting off of eBay? Now that's just asking for trouble. :-/

      • Re:His own fault... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 24 2006, @02:32AM (#16173035)
        The problem is that the "reputable dealers" have ridiculous markups on replacement parts. You can get a digital camera battery for $40 or for $4. For most people the $4 batteries work just the same and don't fail. Actually I am under the impression that more name brand batteries have been the cause of laptop fires than others, perhaps because they are supposed to be the best performing batteries, so they have to cut more corners than generics. One thing which could really help the situation is standardization: It would bring prices down by enabling competition and reducing the number of different battery packs a manufacturer needs to support. That would pretty much eliminate the need or desire to buy off-brand batteries.
        • 'cause the reputable merchants have to have enough margin the accept returns, and recalls, and make things right.

          that's also the difference between the world of walmart, and the world of macys....

      • Re:His own fault... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by toQDuj (806112) on Sunday September 24 2006, @03:00AM (#16173131) Homepage Journal
        Hmm, yes, quite like the Exploding Nokia batteries, indistinguishable from genuine Nokia batteries (according to Nokia), but fake batteries nonetheless (according to Nokia again).

        Here's my thoughts: Nokia bought a batch of faulty batteries bud didn't want to admit it. Therefore they said the batteries weren't theirs, even though they coulod not make the distinction.

        The real reason you should be buying laptop batteries directly from the manufacturer (or in this case, the vendor: Apple, Dell or IBM) and not a reseller, is that the Li-ion batteries start degrading as soon as they're manufactured due to stresses in the crystal matrix. It does not matter much, therefore, how the batteries are used, for they will only last up to three years before cells will break. Thus, you want the batteries as fresh from the factory as possible, which is why you buy them from the vendor and not a reseller, because the turnover speed at the vendor is greater.

        Explosions are quite common to high-capacity batteries. It's the energy, you see.

        B.
      • "That man has a point" he says whilst carefully taking his nokia-phone/ebay-battery out of his pocket and further away from his valuable parts.

    • Re:His own fault... (Score:5, Funny)

      by pchan- (118053) on Sunday September 24 2006, @04:06AM (#16173321) Journal
      Think of this as a learning experience If Linux had implemented BeOS's is_computer_on_fire() [tycomsystems.com]* system call, he would have been able to log the situation, send an email to his friend to alert the authorities, and shut down cleanly.

      *Yes, it's actually in the OS.

      • Re:His own fault... (Score:4, Funny)

        by bytesex (112972) on Sunday September 24 2006, @09:50AM (#16174781) Homepage
        I also very much like the is_computer_on() functioncall, documented on the same page, which returns 1 if your computer is on, otherwise undefined. Very clever.
      • Yes I can see the message now.

        "
        Fire - exclamation mark - fire - exclamation mark - help me - exclamation mark. 123 Cavendon Road. Looking forward to hearing from you. Yours truly, Alan Cox
        "

    • Re:His own fault... (Score:4, Informative)

      by arivanov (12034) on Sunday September 24 2006, @07:32AM (#16174035) Homepage
      RTFA: he bought the battery off eBay. Nuff said, no need to say more, move along.

  • Then the insurance guy says... (Score:5, Funny)

    by creimer (824291) on Sunday September 24 2006, @01:31AM (#16172805) Homepage
    "What? Exploding laptop and you're running linux? Oh, we don't cover that."

    • Re:Then the insurance guy says... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Almost-Retired (637760) on Sunday September 24 2006, @02:21AM (#16172993)
      "What? Exploding laptop and you're running linux? Oh, we don't cover that."

      Sorry, but I believe HP has a trademark on that phrase, as I was so exquisitly told by the circuit city folks when I indicated that the HP5320dv I'd just bought would probably have linux on it in less than 48 hours. I picked up the warranty form and said, well, I just guess the lawyers will have to sort that out now won't we? It did get FC5 installed as soon as I could make backups to dvd's, and works great with FC5 on it except for the broadcom radio in it.

      In any event, this, because its Alan Cox's machine, may well be the most famous blowup yet.

      I don't know what type of battery is in my HP, but its been very well behaved so far. That knocking sound? Thats me, knocking on the wood of the tabletop here. :-)

      --
      Cheers, Gene

  • If you were wondering if NiMH was competitive... (Score:3, Informative)

    by WoTG (610710) on Sunday September 24 2006, @01:57AM (#16172903) Homepage Journal
    I got curious about how much better Lithium Ion batteries were than Nickel Metal Hydride. So, here are a few numbers I quickly grabbed from the Wikipedia.

    Li-Ion:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion_battery [wikipedia.org]
    Energy/weight ~150 Wh/kg
    Energy/size ~250 Wh/L

    NiMH:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_metal_hydride_ battery [wikipedia.org]
    Energy/weight 60-?? Wh/kg
    Energy/size 100 Wh/L

    My laptop gets a couple hours of battery life with Li-Ion. It looks like I'd get about 40% of that with NiMH -- not that appealing. I don't think we'll be turning back any time soon.

    I just hope that the next generation of battery technolgy is inherently less likely to explode.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by SEE (7681)
        For one, keep in mind that it's not a laptop, it's a notebook.

        So it's roughly 8.5" x 11" (A4 for the metric world)? Because, you see, the term "notebook" was specifically inaugurated for the subclass of laptops the approximate size of -- get this -- a notebook. With the ones even smalled than that being "subnotebooks".

        Laptop is an unfortunate consumer-ism

        No, it's a manufacturer-coined name for the class of machine small enought to fit on the lap and powered by batteries, going back to the advertising for

  • Laptop? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by RKBA (622932) on Sunday September 24 2006, @01:58AM (#16172905) Homepage
    Good thing no one actually puts Laptop computers in their lap.

      • Re:Laptop? (Score:5, Funny)

        by OldManAndTheC++ (723450) on Sunday September 24 2006, @02:46AM (#16173087)

        they aren't designed to be used on laps or any other surface

        Drat. Now I'll have to go shopping for a surface-less table. Perhaps "Klein Bottles-R-Us" has what I need...

  • Did Sony know about the batteries? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Juggler9 (653684) on Sunday September 24 2006, @02:00AM (#16172915)
    Question: With all of the exploding batteries lately (Apple, Dell, Toshiba, IBM/Lenovo (possibly), etc. Have you seen any reports of Sony laptops exploding?

    Does Sony "cherry-pick" the A-grade batteries for their own use and send the B-grade and lower ones to their clients?

    If so, what kind of liability issues does that raise. Sony HAS done some questionable things in the past knowingly. ;)
    • "Sony HAS done some questionable things in the past knowingly. ;)"

      Riiiiiiiight, sure they have. Do you expect me to believe a multibulliondollar international corporation would be so stupid as to do something as underhanded like distribute under-tested batteries or stealth-installer-rootkits on music CDs? Pfeh. Next thing you'll try and tell me Ford made exploding cars...

  • Beowulf Clusters (Score:3, Funny)

    by Greg Lindahl (37568) on Sunday September 24 2006, @02:12AM (#16172961) Homepage
    Good thing we don't make Beowulf Clusters out of laptops, or then I could say...

  • Wait 'til the FAA sees this... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by junk (33527) on Sunday September 24 2006, @02:20AM (#16172985) Homepage
    With the current trend in battery explosions for laptops, I wonder how long until all laptops are considered explosive devices and aren't allowed to be used on planes. Perhaps we should start using things that are more stable. Like radioactive material or internal combustion engines. Ooh! Or we could all get neat little hand cranks!

    What am I going to do on my flight to Germany now?

  • Phew, that was close (Score:3, Funny)

    by RevRigel (90335) on Sunday September 24 2006, @02:25AM (#16173013)
    Alan Cox is an important leader and resource in the Linux community. On behalf of all Linux users, I hope that, for the sake of our collective Cox, manufacturers can sort out these battery issues.

  • IBM Tech Support (Score:5, Funny)

    by spoonboy42 (146048) on Sunday September 24 2006, @02:30AM (#16173027)
    We regret to inform you, Mr. Cox, that since you were operating with an unsupported software configuration (i.e. Linux) we can not offer you support in regards to your issue (spontaneous incendiary explosion). Thank you for purchasing an IBM thinkpad.

    Sincerely,
    IBM Tech Support

  • Heh. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Square Snow Man (985909) on Sunday September 24 2006, @02:44AM (#16173081)
    Coming Soon Laptops On A Plane!

  • This is good news, everyone (Score:3, Funny)

    by YetAnotherLogin (534226) on Sunday September 24 2006, @02:56AM (#16173109)
    Great! Sounds like Alan Cox has finally added support for the RJE and EOI opcodes [kettering.edu] to the Linux kernel.

  • "unexploded" batteries (Score:5, Funny)

    by D4C5CE (578304) on Sunday September 24 2006, @02:57AM (#16173117)
    I also took the other two unexploded battery cells out
    Now that's one nice word they've come up with, to distinguish the two categories of battery found in laptops. ;-)
    • "Now that's one nice word they've come up with, to distinguish the two categories of battery found in laptops. ;-)"

      When they fix this problem, laptop batteries will have a warning sticker that says 'inexplodable'.
    • It's a useful word, too:

      FS: Two unexploded laptop batteries cheap!

  • how long? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by mennucc1 (568756) <d3@tonelli.sns.it> on Sunday September 24 2006, @04:19AM (#16173359) Homepage Journal
    If a battery is defective and may explode, how long would it take ? For example, suppose you buy one replacement lithium battery nowadays; and you use it for X months; may you say "I have used it for X months, it did not explode, so it is not defective" ? Or, otherwise, is it a defect that may show up in a random moment in the future? Does anyone here at /. know?

  • Is his diary still in Welsh? (Score:3, Informative)

    by caluml (551744) <slashdot&spamgoeshere,calum,org> on Sunday September 24 2006, @07:48AM (#16174099) Homepage
    Is his diary still in Welsh?
    That's the silliest thing I ever knew. I used to read it, but now he's effectively cut it off for the non-Welsh speaking world.

      • Re:Epidemic? (Score:4, Informative)

        by threephaseboy (215589) on Sunday September 24 2006, @01:46AM (#16172863) Homepage
        Neither the MacBook or the iBook G4 have two latches on the screen, neither have audio jacks on the front, no apple notebook shipped with a 4 pin FireWire jack (on the front? are they serious??), etc.

      • Re:Epidemic? (Score:5, Funny)

        by DustyShadow (691635) on Sunday September 24 2006, @01:46AM (#16172867) Homepage
        Is that why there is a "Made for Windows XP" sticker on it?

          • Re:Like, hey dude! You got one HOT De// (Score:4, Insightful)

            by ivoras (455934) <ivorasNO@SPAMfer.hr> on Sunday September 24 2006, @08:56AM (#16174367) Homepage
            Shouldn't all this exploding-laptop trend really lead to producing more durable cases for portable devices? Like, if a "laptop" really exploded like this while on someone's lap, the person could be seriously injured. If it [the laptop] had a harder casing, possibly made of titanium, the risk of injury would be much less.

            • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

              by Anonymous Coward
              I think that would depend on which part would be made more durable. If you reinforced the entire casing then you might just make the explosion build up more pressure and potentially making it even more dangerous. It would probably be a good thing to reinforce the entire casing except the back so the explosion is aimed in the safest direction, like a shaped charge.

            • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

              by ari_j (90255)
              IANALY, but you are on an interesting track. Products liability law in many jurisdictions in the US imposes liability if the plaintiff can show, among other things, that there was a reasonable alternative design. That is, a design that would have prevented the injury could have been built at the time that the original product was built and still been reasonable, so far as its utility and cost go.

              So, if someone does get injured by an exploding laptop and can show that a harder case would have been a rea

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Maybe somebody will build a laptop that doesn't require you to "take the battery out of the computer unless they need it." I have a UPS battery backup for my desktop system, and I don't have to pull the battery out of it when I'm not expecting to need to use the battery. That would defeat the whole point of having the thing. I think a lot of people are using their laptops like that, it's their main computer and they like the fact that it has a battery too so they can survive without it plugged in for an hou

    • Re:Data Recover (Score:5, Informative)

      by Beryllium Sphere(tm) (193358) on Sunday September 24 2006, @02:00AM (#16172911) Homepage Journal
      They handle fire- and smoke-damaged equipment all the time.

      At the risk of being arrested and taken to a home for the criminally obvious, don't breathe any of the smoke from an exploding battery. Some formulations burn into chemicals that you don't want anywhere near you, such as hydrofluoric acid [internatio...eryinc.com]. It's not that strong an acid but it's remarkably destructive to flesh. If you do get a whiff of smoke go to the emergency room even if you feel OK.

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by Weedhopper (168515)
          Yep. HF is straight up deadly. Eating away your flesh is the least of your worries when 3% covereage with .1M solution is enough to kill you in 48 hours. It's not a pleasant way to go, either.

          I used to work with HF in my lab when I was a grad student. Let me tell you, you start to follow lab safety procedures REAL careful like.

    • Real source of "info" on Alan Cox (Score:5, Informative)

      by rsborg (111459) on Sunday September 24 2006, @02:21AM (#16172995) Homepage
      ...Whilst employed on the campus of University of Wales...

      Now where have I read that phrase before? *googles* oh yeah...

      Dude, at least site the source of your data (and more complete information at that): wikipedia page for Alan Cox [wikipedia.org].

          • Re:Real source of "info" on Alan Cox (Score:4, Funny)

            by Professor_UNIX (867045) on Sunday September 24 2006, @11:28AM (#16175815)
            thats what your teachers were talking about when they told you about plagiarism

            For those that aren't aware, plagiarism is the practice of dishonestly claiming original authorship of material which one has not actually created, such as when a person incorporates material from someone else's work into his own work without attributing it. Within academia, plagiarism is seen as academic dishonesty, and is a serious and punishable academic offense.

    • Re:Alan Cox... (Score:5, Funny)

      by ozmanjusri (601766) <aussie_bob@hotmail. c o m> on Sunday September 24 2006, @02:42AM (#16173075) Journal
      Just to continue the karma-whoring trend, I'll post a transcript of the actual conversation so you don't have to RTFA

      Cox: What happen ?
      Telsa: Somebody set up us the bomb.

      Telsa: We get fire.
      Cox: What !
      Telsa: Main screen lit up.
      Cox: It's you !!
      MS: How are you gentlemen !!
      MS: All your codebase are belong to us.
    • You forgot a very likely possibility:

      4) Your computer is full of dust.

      Every 6 months or so, I take the computers outside and blow out the "Ghost Turds". I have a fairly dusty house, and when they are full of "Dust Bunnies", I know by the fact that my temp-controlled fans kick up speed at inappropriate times.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by stevelup (445596)
      Just about every single person living in the UK...

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by robzster1977 (518768) *
      Pretty much all [london-fire.gov.uk] of [cheshirefire.gov.uk] the [fire-uk.org] UK [wiltshirefirebrigade.com]. And since it appears that the UK started forming fire brigades just after the Great Fire Of London [wikipedia.org], that's probably where the name originates.

      Besides, 'Fire Department'? What's that? 'Department of Fire'? Hey, sounds like a fantastic place to work! Legal arson! ;)

    • Re:wouldn't it be ironic (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Gleng (537516) on Sunday September 24 2006, @11:08AM (#16175605)
      wouldn't it be ironic if he was masturbating and his cock also exploded?

      No, Alanis, it would be a coincidence. It would be ironic if he was working on a battery status monitoring program when it exploded.

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