Instead Of Rebates, Maybe Dell Should Offer Fire Extinguishers

Dell computers has announced a massive recall of its laptop batteries. It seems that--how to put this delicately?--they have an annoying habit of suddenly bursting into flames. In one case, at a conference in Japan, someone fortunately had the good sense to grab a camera phone instead of a fire extinguisher.

Apparently the Consumer Products Safety Commission considers this to be some sort of design flaw, especially since many people choose to foolishly place laptops on top of their laps. To date no one has been killed or seriously injured, though there has been property damage. In one case, a battery caused a fire on an airborne UPS jet. The pilots were able to make a successful emergency landing in Philadelphia. And in another incident, Thomas Forqueran of Arizona watched a Dell Inspiron notebook take out his vintage 1966 Ford F-250 which had been handed down from his father.

Well, guess that explains why I came home the other day to find a charcoal briquet where my laptop used to be.