Laptop Explodes at Japanese Conference 531
Posted
by
ScuttleMonkey
from the glad-it-wasn't-on-a-lap dept.
from the glad-it-wasn't-on-a-lap dept.
An anonymous reader writes "A laptop reported to be a Dell burst into flame and was caught on camera during a recent Japanese conference. Guess this laptop could be a poster child to prove that laptops really can cause sterility if they are on your lap."
When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Insightful)
When you've seen a photo like that you're gonna pay a lot more attention to a product recall.
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Funny)
That's normal for Zerg technology.
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Interesting)
That made me certain that Dell incompetence would make my bricks explode.
I replaced them at my own expense. And considered sneaking into a Dell office and swapping mine in for theirs.
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:3, Funny)
I would venture to guess that Dell gives higher priority to their business customers over the general consumers....
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:3, Funny)
OK Michael, we get the idea!
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Funny)
I work for Dell, my job is to decide whether to recall. Everywhere I go I apply the formula.
It's simple arithmetic. If a new laptop built by Dell is sitting on someone's lap, and it bursts into flames, sterilising and disfiguring the user, does Dell initiate a recall?
You take the population of laptops in the field (A) and multiply it by the probable rate of failure (B), then multiply the result by the average cost of an out-of-court settlement (C).
A times B times C equals X. That is what it will cost if we don't initiate a recall.
If X is greater than the cost of a recall, we recall the laptops and no-one gets hurt.
If X is less than the cost of a recall, then we don't recall.
Everywhere I go, there's the burned-up wadded-shell of a laptop waiting for me. I know where all the fried testicles are. Consider this my job security.
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Interesting)
The questions I have are.. Has this story been verified and not staged? Maybe it was just someone who hates dell? What news conference did this happen at? Why's it so difficult to get a model #, or get another closer shot after the fire was put out?
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Insightful)
Sure 10 people get hurt by the computer and you settle out of court with 9 of them, the 10th one doesn't want money they want to know why it failed.
It trickles along untill the media needs a story cause it's a slow news day, they find it and blow it out of perportion, suddenly you have 50 other people showing up claiming they got hurt by your computer (even though they never owned one or they own a different company's but hey, that's technicalitys), you get a big class action lawsuit against you now. Suddenly those little settlements become one big settlement for everyone who has your computer.
Then you have to get someone to do the corral the negative PR that is happening against your company, so you only had 10 reported cases of a machine blowing up, one just wanted to know why it wasn't thought of somewheres before hitting retail and 59 (not doing actual numbers because it would be in the thousands, cause where there is money to be made by doing nothing, people will show up and want a peice of that pie) others want money from your company and you are now out of a job.
Sure this is just one computer but now the questions will slowly start happening,
First step: Deny Deny Deny, Your company did nothing wrong.
Second Step: Claim it was the users fault, They weren't using the proper power supply/battery for the notebook, it's not the companies fault.
Third Step: Claim it's a small problem, Your company is presented with proof it was their fault it happened so now it's time to claim that it's a small isolated problem and out of the millions you have sold worldwide there is only the one.
Fourth step: People see the chance to make money, Now you have people coming out claiming it happened to them and naturally they have no proof cause they got rid of the notebook since it "Blew up and no longer worked!" and then a lawyer sees a chance to make a name for him/herself and make some nice change from it. Time to issue a recall on all of them regardless.
Atleast that's how it works in the USA, not sure if other people are quick to think "10 problems around the world = EVERYTHING done by this company is flawed so I should get paid for not even being a part of it!".
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:3, Funny)
Hmmm, sounds like a rare case of truth in advertisement to me.
Gives a whole new meaning to DVD BURNER!! (eom) (Score:5, Funny)
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Insightful)
There's a reason all the big OEMs stopped calling them laptops. They really don't intend fo you to put it in your lap. I used to work for notebook support for a company, we actually had some people get burned by the more powerful notebooks because they had them in their laps for too long. It's even in the documentation that they can get too hot to be comfortably used in the lap.
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:4, Informative)
My wife was the worst about this. I finally brought her a thick magazine (Glamour or some crap) every time she used it. Eventually she had a fat magazine everywhere she went to use it, and stuck it under the laptop so the thing didn't spontaneously combust.
They really should eradicate the term 'laptop'. First of all I haven't used too many notebook/portable computers that sit comfortably on my lap. Second, it's extremely bad posture. Third, these days computers just get way too hot. One of my clients bought a 15" MacBook Pro and I swear you can cook eggs on the left side of the thing near the speaker, and that's on the TOP of the unit where you rest your palms.
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AKA8Y/104-1
Oh... and the boyfriend says to use a FIRM pillow to prevent blocking the chillpad vents in the back (he still uses a pillow sometimes to prop it up.
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Interesting)
Maybe it ties into the explosion/fire.
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe it ties into the explosion/fire
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Informative)
Actually I would expect this being a Lithium-Air fire. Nothing electrical in it, except for the activation energy. The explosions would have been the other cells rupturing.
This type of fire cannot be extinguished in practice. You put sand or maybe foam on it if you need to protect what is around it and let it burn out.
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:When will those idiots at Dell learn? (Score:5, Funny)
Not batteries (Score:3, Informative)
Overexposed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:RELIABLE SOURCE MY @$$!!!!! (Score:3, Informative)
Thinkpad users safe... (Score:5, Funny)
I've built balls of steel lugging that thing around. Not even an exploding Sunblade100 could sterilize my boys.
Re:Thinkpad users safe... (Score:5, Funny)
Why would you have a sunblade100 on your lap?
it was probably... (Score:5, Funny)
artificial intelligence? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:artificial intelligence? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:artificial intelligence? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:artificial intelligence? (Score:4, Funny)
*shoots self before finishing cliched slashdot meme for the thousandth time*
Re:artificial intelligence? (Score:3, Funny)
So, this was a muslim laptop?
Sage words of advice (Score:5, Funny)
Should you witness such an event, his advice is, "Don't try anything courageous/stupid, stay away, away, away!"
But take pictures first!
-h-
Re:Sage words of advice (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Sage words of advice (Score:5, Funny)
Fire Precaution (Score:5, Funny)
Dude U got NO BALLS (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Dude U got NO BALLS (Score:5, Funny)
Dude, Where's my balls?
Feeling hot, hot, hot... (Score:5, Informative)
The hard drive is right under the left palm-rest area, and it has quite literally burned my hand several times. It's not suprising to me to see one on fire.
Re:Feeling hot, hot, hot... (Score:5, Interesting)
When the D600 battery goes defective they can get insane hot to melt the case plastic a bit when left on the charger.
Of the fleet of D600's we have here (190 laptops) I have replaced about 50% of the batteries and of them 25% damaged the laptop case. (laptops were rolled out last year this time.)
I'm betting the laptop in the photos is a D600 with a bad battery that was left on the charger for a long time causing it to fail dramatically.
My D800 and D400 both get insane hot but the D600 is the only one that scares me.
Re:Feeling hot, hot, hot... (Score:3, Interesting)
WE had to replace every drive in the laptops we had dead batteries in.
Also some of the wifi cards they sent in the D600 became defective after 6 months. they would intermittently lose connection with accesspoints to the level that installing netstumbler on the machine you co
Weird (Score:4, Funny)
Having just looked at pictures of an exploding laptop, and been warned to "avoid actually using a laptop on your lap", here I am happily typing away with my laptop sat in my lap as ever (with the usual book underneath to keep the CPU from burning out).
But then mine is a fairly old thinkpad [linuxvirus.net] that runs quite cool, usually ~45 degrees. The one that exploded looks more modern (it is a Dell, after all).
There, nicely rationalised away so as I can get back to my life
Nursery rhyme come true. (Score:5, Funny)
can't wait (Score:5, Funny)
My head's gonna explode like that! (Score:4, Funny)
Actually... (Score:2, Funny)
(It'd be ironic if somehow I got modded down with a "Flamebait")
Yay, sterility! (Score:5, Funny)
Am I the only person out there who thinks that sterility is a good thing? I can buy thousands of high end laptops for what one kid costs.
Laptops can't... (Score:5, Insightful)
Make your lunch
Give you a hug
Smile
Hold your hand
Carry your bag
Laugh
Get sick
Cry
Call you at work
Run into you
No matter how many laptops you buy, you won't be able to share your life, your lessons, your beliefs, or your ideas with a laptop. Though if you get sterilized, at least you can adopt a kid.
Re:Laptops can't... (Score:3, Funny)
steal your money
kill you in your sleep and run off with your daughter
go crazy in high school and shoot a lot of people
get pregnant
get someone pregnant
I for one would be happy to see more people sterilized, but voluntarily and not by exploding laptops.
Re:Laptops can't... (Score:4, Interesting)
You obviously don't run an ALICE bot [alicebot.org]
It was from the new Star Trek line... (Score:2)
and tested manner of computers from Star Trek in that situation, it blew up.
If I were a Dell laptop... (Score:5, Funny)
At a Japanese conference? (Score:2, Interesting)
Imagine.. (Score:5, Funny)
Temperature issues (Score:5, Interesting)
Perhaps this will convince manufacturers to start thinking about the temperatures that their computers run at. Sure, they make sure that the processor and hard drive run below their rated maximum temperatures, but in a practical sense, they've been letting computers run too hot. My Asus M2400Ne runs pretty cool most of the time, but the hard drive and AC adapter (both the power brick and the plug) can get so hot that they burn you a little if you hold them for a few seconds. This is ridiculous. You can't build a product that reaches insane temperatures, and then stick a little label that says "Do not use with less than 3 feet of space next to eachvent" on it! Let's see some better cooling. Personally, I think a laptop with one big (4 to 6 inches), slowly rotating fan in the middle of the bottom, plus exhaust vents on the sides and back, would actually look nice, keep the laptop much cooler (no more "hot spots" on the keyboard), and run quietly. (You'd need rubber feet to hold it up enough, but most bottom vents need them.) This would probably also help with blocked vents, since it's much harder to block a huge circle-shaped vent in the middle of the case than a small square vent near the side, where the laptop is likely to rest on your leg.
Re:Temperature issues (Score:4, Insightful)
Or just underclock it, most people don't want or need that much horsepower on the road. They should have a human adjustable clock (instead of the tech adjustable multiplier etc) so that the average user can keep their laptop cool. Then if they need to run heavy stuff, they can crank it up and take it off their lap.
Re:Temperature issues (Score:2)
You mean like every laptop made in recent history already does?
Re:Temperature issues (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Temperature issues (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Temperature issues (Score:2)
Not gonna work unless the case is humongous for a laptop. The problem with a vent in the center is that of the air will flow from the side vent that is least obstructed (eg, not the one which would force air over the HD) -- you'd end up with pockets of
Re:Temperature issues (Score:5, Insightful)
So, if your battery weighs two pounds, you have the potential energy of roughly a third pound of TNT -- more than enough to cause some serious damage.
I for one don't want to be killed by keyboard shrapnel!
on a plane? (Score:2)
Hmmm, sounds like a great idea for a movie...
[Offtopic] Clichés (Score:2)
On a plane (Score:2)
I say that it wouldn't cause much harm to the flight unless it happened just next to the pilots or something. It _shouldn't_ cause much harm to the flight! Just a small fire, easy to put out, that's all. Imagine a large passenger flying machine, where this happens in the cabin. The pilots would probably not even notice until informed by the cabin crew afterwards. (Especially not nowadays with locked doors due to
New name? (Score:2)
Perhaps we need to find a new name for them other than "laptop." I'm certainly not putting my HP on my lap without a sheet of Space Shuttle tiles between me and it.
Re:New name? (Score:2)
Those space shuttle tiles will protect your legs alright. Now, what about your chest, arms and face? Those will take the exact same amount of damage as if you were using it on a desk.
The truth is that there is no point in worrying about this unless you happen to run a similar model to the one that went bang. Using your laptop on your lap or not is a mere detail (though sensationalised by the author of the linked page). The explosion itself is the real issue.
This is a common occurence (Score:5, Informative)
People, do not use your laptop on carpet or in situations where it may not get ample ventilation. It can burst into flames and harm people or property... well definitely the laptop at least. Read your manuals and follow the disclaimers.
The Fresh Maker (Score:2, Informative)
all I can think to say... (Score:2)
The situation is improving (Score:2)
It's a couple years old.
My wife just got a Dell E1505, and it's a faster machine, but only pulls 28 watts sitting there and 35 watching a movie.
Unless you wire it right into the car battery, I can't even run my laptop with my 600 watt inverter, the inverter just can't get enough juice from the cigarette lighter.
The E1505 can run right off the cigarett
Just curious... (Score:5, Funny)
Second picture (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Second picture (Score:5, Funny)
Let me guess (Score:5, Funny)
Battery explosion... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Battery explosion... (Score:5, Informative)
The problem with Li-ion (and to a greater degree, Lithium Polymer) cells is that they're so sensitive - charge them over 4.2V or discharge them below 3.2V and the cell will be damaged. Abuse it a lot and it will blow up. To get that to happen in a properly designed circuit, you'd need a chain of failures:
The big problem with Li-ions is that they're inherently unstable. The nickel-based batteries tend to be much more forgiving of abuse. They usually don't blow up unless you really, really abuse them. You might damage them and reduce their capacity a bit, but you usually won't be able to make them explode or spontaneously combust without some serious work. They do have a lower energy density and terminal voltage than Li-ion and Li-Polymer, though, which might partially explain why they're more stable.
Re:Battery explosion... (Score:3, Informative)
whoa, some hot downloads there, d00d! (Score:3, Funny)
Warning! (Score:3, Funny)
y2k? (Score:3, Funny)
Obligatory All your base reference (Score:3, Funny)
Ta-da!
Typical Dell. (Score:5, Funny)
How is it possible that even images of their own device on fire could look so boring. They're so devoid of composition, of sensitivity.
In this other example, the victim has taken time to place the burning device against a backdrop of roughly hewn rock, and has done so at a time of day deserving of the generous tones cast by the flames as they lash, even swagger about the white plastic.. [wcco.com]
Dell, here this: even in death, one should look positively gorgeous.
Apparently... (Score:5, Informative)
...this happens more often than Dell admits [consumerist.com].
Why the Dell hate? (Score:4, Interesting)
As far as the exploding laptop, is it really the manufacturer's fault? This question would apply regardless of who it is. It would seem to me that if it were a manufacturing defect in the laptop, say in the charging circuitry, those models would be exploding left and right. It was very likely that the battery pack on that thing was made by a third party and sold for half the price of an OEM pack.
That's not to say that OEM battery packs can't blow up. The battery cells are procured from outside manufacturers. Of course, laptop manufacturers will (hopefully) only buy batteries made by reputable firms, but right now there's big business in counterfeit batteries over in China. I remember awhile back Kyocera had phones coming with counterfeit batteries that were exploding in peoples' pockets and hands, inflicting some serious injuries. [signonsandiego.com] The thing is, don't just eye Dells with suspicison - I imagine it's possible for any manufacturer to get a bad batch of batteries if they're not careful, but I imagine that's rare and they are, indeed, careful. Big laptop manufacturers probably have direct accounts, anyway.
Reminds me of the recent Sun advertisement.... (Score:3, Funny)
A whole new commercial to annoy PC users (Score:4, Funny)
Opening shot: Boring White Dude and Sarcastic Babe Magnet Skaterboy
BWD: Hello... does it feel hot in here to you?
SBMS: Yeah. But it always is a little warm. You just have to dress right... are you okay?
BWD: Ahhhhh... you might want to stay back -- ARRRRAAAAGHHH! I'm BURNING!!
SBMS: Stopdropandroll! Ah, man that has to hurt!
BWD: I'm okay. It's just the epidermis.
SBMS: [leaving for Japan with Kevin Rose] Old people suck, and they're also pretty flammable. Don't hang out with them. I rule. Macs get laid. JAGERMEISTER SHOTS! Line 'em up, and show me the Japanese chicks!
Alex: [shot of him passed out on floor next to toilet] ooohhh goddd.
Re: Linux On Fire? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I wonder... (Score:5, Funny)
First, he would carefully return his pristine copy of American Rifleman to its snug sealed fold within his kevlar jacket, then reach into his jacket holster and withdraw his standard issue SIG-Sauer P228. Then, in one brisk motion, he would adjust his stetson/baseball cap, stand out of his seat, face the explosion and flick back his jacket revealing; one flawlessly polished United States Marshals Service badge, one flawlessly polished State of Texas belt buckle(large), one flawlessly polished non standard issue Smith and Western Model 500 holstered to right of belt buckle.
He would then proceed to unload all fifteen rounds of the P228 into the laptop and its owner, causing further combustions of the laptop, and naturally killing the misfortuate passenger come terrorist, who only moments before would have been enjoying a quiet morning flight while reading left wing Californian blogs over the inflight coffee. A number of the bullets would obviously rupture the aircrafts fragile hull, and as a result of the altitude, the entire plane would begin to depressurise and disintegrate.
As the wind howls about him and as passengers begin to be sucked out of the plane still vainly clutching at their chairs, the marshal would leap forward, land a solid punch on the jaw of the laptop owner's corpse, and, just before the chair that now contained them both was torn away by the wind, the marshal would reach for his handcuffs, and neatly clamp one end about the corpses wrist, and one about his own.
As the gale finally takes the pair, the remaining doomed passengers will just faintly make out the brave hero's final words, carried by chance on swirling eddies:
United States Marshalls!!!! Freeze!!!
Re:I wonder... (Score:5, Informative)
no it wont. popping several holes in a pressurized plane even a window will not destroy or even cause major damage to a plane.
Anyone into avionics and avaiation knows this as well as mythbusters also proved it. the only way they did any major damage was lots of primercord and shaped explosive charges.
Re:How? (Score:5, Funny)
Like this...
BOOM!!!!!!!!
Re:I call BS (Score:3, Insightful)
And it does not have to burn that bright. It's enough when it overloads the CCD chip of the camera that took the shot. Try it, with proper exposition even a candle flame can look insanely brig