Slashdot Mirror

If you go onto Apple's site when it's up, or here... http://cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06245.html then you can see where on the battery the information that you need is.

Also, you don't need to poweroff your laptop to take out the battery, just leave it plugged into the wall.

You recall correctly. In december 2005, Dell recalled about 20000 batteries in the US, and about 35000 worldwide. I can still remember checking my own laptop's battery on dellbatteryprogram.com, and beeing dissapointed that I didn't get a fresh one for free. This time however, my old and worn battery will be replaced.

Please visit the firm's Web site at www.dellbatteryprogram.com beginning at 1 a.m. Central Daylight Time Aug. 15

Apple had a power adapter safety recall by the Consumer Product Safety Commission back in the G3 era, and a battery recall last year. Is this a new problem?

Well, that's not how it is ending up. Given that the cost of education in (time and money) is increasing beyond the amount that can be paid, offshoring is being used primarily to replace high quality domestic workers with those who have low initial cost but higher costs in having the proper people do it afterwards to clean up.

Businesses will react accordingly. Its a case-by-case basis, some jobs that were offshored are being returned to the states, but that doesn't mean that offshoring is altogether bad. Eventually businesses will figure what can be offshored and what can't.
Is it bad when companies adopt Linux, it is the very essence of global collaboration and low cost adoption. Think of all the "high quality" proprietary OS programming job opportunities that are lost each year because of Linux. The economic advantage, however, is that companies don't need to pay for a proprietary OS to create products. The lower barrier to entry means more new products which means new jobs.

You must be joking if the newer products out there have any resemblance to "quality" - Lenovo's machines are using less durable materials, Dell's laptops have models that explode, and HP's status gone down to a "ink revenue station" seller that's about to get the problems of NCR's Nyberg generation (Hurd) all over it.

First, laptop batteries have been exploding for years. Things should be good enough for their application. Mission critical systems shouldn't be buying Dell computers, at the same time average home users don't necessarily need to pay extra to have raid 5 storage, and uninterrupted power. Personally I don't want to pay twice as much for a computer that lasts twice as long. Technology changes so rapidly that when my computer fails, I would be able to get something far more powerful at a cheaper price. There are situations where quality is of essence, and there are product makers who supply to that market.

Whatever opportunities I'm seeing, you seem to want to keep out of reach of displaced workers and those in states (read:the Rust Belt) have unfavorable economic situations.

The rust belt is getting car jobs again from honda and Toyota, since Japanese automakers are finding it cheaper to produce in those areas. Such areas also are benefitting from the high cost of living in other areas of the countries like California.

When you have merit blind, subsidized access(by redirection of existing subsidy) education, maybe I can see there being practical opportunity.

i do agree widespread investment in education is key to longterm success. The way to gain maximimum advanatage of lower cost of goods and services is to have a developed workforce able to create new value added opportunities.

Offshoring as it is done now is a large mistake in need of a complete overhaul.

It's the same as it's been done for hundreds of years, with the same complaints by displaced workers. Unless you're a poor displaced cobbler or weaver, the result has been a significant improvement in lifestyle.

For those who don't want to RTFA (it's pretty dry, but has some pictures). Dell products impacted consist of:

• Latitude(TM) D410, D505, D510, D600, D610, D800, D810;
• Inspiron(TM) 510M, 600M, 6000, 8600, 9200, 9300, XPS Gen 2;
• Dell Precision(TM) M20 and M70 mobile workstations
• Any of above: Purchased around: October 5, 2004 through October 13, 2005 and Made in China/Japan

Check if your battery is affected: https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/Default.aspx

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06536. html

You know, you're right. I mean, people knew the risks when they purchased Fords with bad tires right? They knew the risks when they purchased a TV wall mount that it was poorly designed and could drop the TV on you. They knew that certain vaporizers have defective heaters that can emit sparks and flames, right? Why are we coddling these people? Just let their homes burn down because they were stupid enough to trust a company to build something safe.

Heck, why should these companies even safeguard this information at all? Information wants to be free, right? Just slap it out there on the web for all to see. It's not like your name might be on their list...

You know, you're right. I mean, people knew the risks when they purchased Fords with bad tires right? They knew the risks when they purchased a TV wall mount that it was poorly designed and could drop the TV on you. They knew that certain vaporizers have defective heaters that can emit sparks and flames, right? Why are we coddling these people? Just let their homes burn down because they were stupid enough to trust a company to build something safe.

Heck, why should these companies even safeguard this information at all? Information wants to be free, right? Just slap it out there on the web for all to see. It's not like your name might be on their list...

I suspect you must have misplaced a decimal or some such in your "calculations" because what you describe as impossible is a common product used by most households throughout Central and South America. Called a Ducha, it's basically a glorified showerhead with a power hookup that heats the water as you shower.

When the wiring was slipshod and unsightly it always made me think twice about turning it on.

Here's a link if you are still incredulous:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml04/04044. html

The government needs to be informed that Thompson is unsafe for children ages -3 to 962.

From Amazon's Write Your Own Review page:

The Fine Print:

* All submitted reviews are subject to the license terms set forth in our Conditions of Use - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/5080 88/102-3524443-9088154.
* Your reviews will be posted within five to seven business days.
* Submissions that do not follow our review guidelines will not be posted.
* If you believe that the product you are reviewing is unsafe, please report this information to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) http://www.cpsc.gov/incident.html or contact Amazon.com directly at product-safety@amazon.com.

-

From Amazon's Conditions of Use:
REVIEWS, COMMENTS, COMMUNICATIONS, AND OTHER CONTENT

Visitors may post reviews, comments, and other content; send e-cards and other communications; and submit suggestions, ideas, comments, questions, or other information, so long as the content is not illegal, obscene, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, infringing of intellectual property rights, or otherwise injurious to third parties or objectionable and does not consist of or contain software viruses, political campaigning, commercial solicitation, chain letters, mass mailings, or any form of "spam." You may not use a false e-mail address, impersonate any person or entity, or otherwise mislead as to the origin of a card or other content. Amazon.com reserves the right (but not the obligation) to remove or edit such content, but does not regularly review posted content.

If you do post content or submit material, and unless we indicate otherwise, you grant Amazon.com and its affiliates a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, and display such content throughout the world in any media. You grant Amazon.com and its affiliates and sublicensees the right to use the name that you submit in connection with such content, if they choose. You represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you post; that the content is accurate; that use of the content you supply does not violate this policy and will not cause injury to any person or entity; and that you will indemnify Amazon.com or its affiliates for all claims resulting from content you supply. Amazon.com has the right but not the obligation to monitor and edit or remove any activity or content. Amazon.com takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any content posted by you or any third party.

-

Amazon's General Review Writing Guidelines

Amazon.com wants your comments to be heard!
The recommended review length is 75 to 300 words.

Authors, publishers, and readers have separate review mechanisms. Please use the appropriate page.

What to include:

* Your review should focus on the book's content and context.
* The best reviews include not only whether you liked or disliked a book, but also why. Feel free to mention related items and how this book rates in comparison to them.

What not to include:
Amazon.com is proud to provide this forum for you to air your opinions on the items we feature. While we appreciate your time and comments, we respectfully request that you refrain from including the following in your review:

* Spoilers! Please don't reveal crucial plot elements.
* Time-sensitive material (i.e., promotional tours, seminars, lectures, etc.).
* Commenting on other reviews visible on the page. Other reviews and their position on the page are subject to change wit

The CPSC site lists the X1000 model as affected by the recall, but the HP site does not.

Are they trying to screw X1000 owners out of replacement batteries, or did they discover the X1000 battery packs are not effected?

I guess I'll have to wait till Monday to call and find out.

Cell phones are becoming shabbier and shabbier these days in some ways, but they're also becoming ridiculously complex. Despite obvious setbacks such as exploding batteries and other notions described in this article, cell phones appear to be coming to a fairly interesting state. Modern cell-phones have all the nuances of multimedia integrated into them, along with the inherent ability to talk with other people (which cell phones were designed for originally). However, multimedia has probably contributed slightly to the cell phone's downfall a mite, adding bugs and new features to maintain. Naturally, with all those cool features like camera phones and such, no one shall notice that ring tones are not included; this is despite the fact that they indicate one of the phone's primary functions (receiving calls).

See Also: Lawn Darts

Oooh, purdy pictures

I don't know if this is it, but I found a recall notice for something called fibro-clay.

Actually the NY law doesn't mention sidewalks. It bans motorised scooters per se. And the argument for the law, given in its text, seems dubious at best:

"The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 4,390 emergency room-treated injuries associated with motorized scooters in the year 2000. Thirty-nine percent of those injured were under 15 years of age."

Compare this with figures for bicycles:

"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that over 600,000 persons suffered bicycle-related injuries serious enough to require hospital emergency room treatment in 1994."

600,000 vs. 4,390. Hmm, shouldn't they be banning bikes? (bikes also fit their other criteria - you can do 40mph on a bike and they aren't licensed)

I've no argument with you about the sidewalks, but thats not how this law is framed.

BTW the law would also make selling toy electric cars for kids punishable by a $1000 fine. Though I guess if you can afford a toy ferrari you can afford the fine....

"For purposes of this section the term "motorized scooter" shall mean any wheeled device that is designed to be stood or sat upon by the operator, is powered by an electric motor [...]"

If Automobiles with all their fancy EULAs always worked "right out of the box", there wouldn't be such a thing as Lemon Laws to protect the consumer from faulty merchandise.

The argument is that a (software, etc) product that faults on its own in the hands of the consumer should be liable for any damage caused by the fault. Only in the software industry have we become so accustomed to badly coded "commercial-level" programs that we grin and ignore it. We say "its just electrons, no harm done", but then we curse when Excel crashes and loses 4 hours of work, or Outlook's .ost file corrupts and there goes months of emails....

If your electric razor malfunctioned every 1 in 50 uses and required you to shut it off and back on again to make it run, wouldn't you be taking that product right back to the store? Or what if something worse happened? And what do we do, we switch brands. Once bitten, twice shy. And now we finally have options to switch away from the Microsoft brand...

True. I was leaning more towards a point based on susceptibility to damage of cheaper cords; I've never seen a 12ga extension short out from being closed in a door. I have, however, seen cheap extension cords heat up enough soften the insulation. Stick it under a metal table leg and an extension cord with soft insulation doesn't HAVE to heat up to flashpoint to cause a fire. Besides, citing what the gauge of a cheap cord should be doesn't mean much if the conductors are undersized for their stated rating. Optimal conditions are great for electrical theory, but in the field you sometimes can't even trust your wiggy or your multimeter.

True. I was leaning more towards a point based on susceptibility to damage of cheaper cords; I've never seen a 12ga extension short out from being closed in a door. I have, however, seen cheap extension cords heat up enough soften the insulation. Stick it under a metal table leg and an extension cord with soft insulation doesn't HAVE to heat up to flashpoint to cause a fire. Besides, citing what the gauge of a cheap cord should be doesn't mean much if the conductors are undersized for their stated rating. Optimal conditions are great for electrical theory, but in the field you sometimes can't even trust your wiggy or your multimeter.

True. I was leaning more towards a point based on susceptibility to damage of cheaper cords; I've never seen a 12ga extension short out from being closed in a door. I have, however, seen cheap extension cords heat up enough soften the insulation. Stick it under a metal table leg and an extension cord with soft insulation doesn't HAVE to heat up to flashpoint to cause a fire. Besides, citing what the gauge of a cheap cord should be doesn't mean much if the conductors are undersized for their stated rating. Optimal conditions are great for electrical theory, but in the field you sometimes can't even trust your wiggy or your multimeter.

True. I was leaning more towards a point based on susceptibility to damage of cheaper cords; I've never seen a 12ga extension short out from being closed in a door. I have, however, seen cheap extension cords heat up enough soften the insulation. Stick it under a metal table leg and an extension cord with soft insulation doesn't HAVE to heat up to flashpoint to cause a fire. Besides, citing what the gauge of a cheap cord should be doesn't mean much if the conductors are undersized for their stated rating. Optimal conditions are great for electrical theory, but in the field you sometimes can't even trust your wiggy or your multimeter.

True. I was leaning more towards a point based on susceptibility to damage of cheaper cords; I've never seen a 12ga extension short out from being closed in a door. I have, however, seen cheap extension cords heat up enough soften the insulation. Stick it under a metal table leg and an extension cord with soft insulation doesn't HAVE to heat up to flashpoint to cause a fire. Besides, citing what the gauge of a cheap cord should be doesn't mean much if the conductors are undersized for their stated rating. Optimal conditions are great for electrical theory, but in the field you sometimes can't even trust your wiggy or your multimeter.

Nontoxic, Conforms to ASTM D-4236 Made in U.S.A.

On November 18, 1988, the President signed into law the Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (Public Law 100-695).This law requires that all art materials be reviewed to determine the potential for causing a chronic hazard and that appropriate warning labels be put on those art materials found to pose a chronic hazard. . . . The law applies to many children's toy products such as crayons, chalk, paint sets, modeling clay, coloring books, pencils, and any other products used by children to produce a work of visual or graphic art. . . . Parents and others buying art materials, school supplies and toys such as crayons, paint sets, or modeling clay should be alert and purchase only those products which are accompanied by the statement "Conforms to ASTM D-4236." . . . Elementary school children should use non-hazardous art materials that indicate they conform to ASTM D-4236

Told ya :-)

I guess he's never used a Motorola DCT-2000 (AT&T Broadband)... i've nearly burned myself on the fucking thing. Oh, and by the way, they have a faulty power plug which can cause electric shock. No, i'm not kidding.

Oh yeah, and he hates PVR's enough to even OWN one I suppose. Heh

The relevant safety standard is UL 60950 (or the identical EU 60590 in Europe), "Safety of Information Technology Equipment". One of the required tests is a full-load worst-case temperature test. No way should those units have received UL or CSA certification.

UL's certification search engine is broken today, so I can't check the power supplies listed to see if they really passed. But those certifications are public information; you can check.

Current CPSC product recalls in the computer area include PowDec power supplies for NextLevel DSL modems and several batteries for laptops. Sounds like that list needs some additions.

The relevant safety standard is UL 60950 (or the identical EU 60590 in Europe), "Safety of Information Technology Equipment". One of the required tests is a full-load worst-case temperature test. No way should those units have received UL or CSA certification.

UL's certification search engine is broken today, so I can't check the power supplies listed to see if they really passed. But those certifications are public information; you can check.

Current CPSC product recalls in the computer area include PowDec power supplies for NextLevel DSL modems and several batteries for laptops. Sounds like that list needs some additions.

How 'bout some plush kitties filled with contaminated water? Yuck... ;-D

DennyK

Here's a bunch of recalled toys

Some of the cool ones I saw before I got bored:

• Now your kid can start their own Project Mayhem!
• I guess kids who wanted one of these will have to wait until they get older
• Does Firestone make toys?
• This would have been more ironic had it been a snowman.
• I guess some toy designers in China and Taiwan didn't read this

Here's a bunch of recalled toys

Some of the cool ones I saw before I got bored:

• Now your kid can start their own Project Mayhem!
• I guess kids who wanted one of these will have to wait until they get older
• Does Firestone make toys?
• This would have been more ironic had it been a snowman.
• I guess some toy designers in China and Taiwan didn't read this

Here's a bunch of recalled toys

Some of the cool ones I saw before I got bored:

• Now your kid can start their own Project Mayhem!
• I guess kids who wanted one of these will have to wait until they get older
• Does Firestone make toys?
• This would have been more ironic had it been a snowman.
• I guess some toy designers in China and Taiwan didn't read this

Here's a bunch of recalled toys

Some of the cool ones I saw before I got bored:

• Now your kid can start their own Project Mayhem!
• I guess kids who wanted one of these will have to wait until they get older
• Does Firestone make toys?
• This would have been more ironic had it been a snowman.
• I guess some toy designers in China and Taiwan didn't read this

Here's a bunch of recalled toys

Some of the cool ones I saw before I got bored:

• Now your kid can start their own Project Mayhem!
• I guess kids who wanted one of these will have to wait until they get older
• Does Firestone make toys?
• This would have been more ironic had it been a snowman.
• I guess some toy designers in China and Taiwan didn't read this

Here's a bunch of recalled toys

Some of the cool ones I saw before I got bored:

• Now your kid can start their own Project Mayhem!
• I guess kids who wanted one of these will have to wait until they get older
• Does Firestone make toys?
• This would have been more ironic had it been a snowman.
• I guess some toy designers in China and Taiwan didn't read this

Here's a bunch of recalled toys

Some of the cool ones I saw before I got bored:

• Now your kid can start their own Project Mayhem!
• I guess kids who wanted one of these will have to wait until they get older
• Does Firestone make toys?
• This would have been more ironic had it been a snowman.
• I guess some toy designers in China and Taiwan didn't read this

Here's a bunch of recalled toys

Some of the cool ones I saw before I got bored:

• Now your kid can start their own Project Mayhem!
• I guess kids who wanted one of these will have to wait until they get older
• Does Firestone make toys?
• This would have been more ironic had it been a snowman.
• I guess some toy designers in China and Taiwan didn't read this

For safety and reliability information, you would be better off consulting the FTC, the Consumer Products Safety Commission, and the Consumers' Union. These organizations are above the bias that plagues UL, TrustE, and various other "public interest money grubbing corporations."

Hmmmm... Tyco Asia, meet Tyco US.

Fire hazard

Tyco announces the ball sprinkler as an alternative.
Fire hazard

Hmmmm... Tyco Asia, meet Tyco US.

Fire hazard

Tyco announces the ball sprinkler as an alternative.
Fire hazard

Yeah... Too bad Lawn Darts are now banned in the US...

Lawndarts Banned in US

I've always wanted to start an Underground Lawn Darts league, just to publicize how out of control the federal goverment is...

and will make a small fire if I'm trapped in the wilderness?

I'm afraid to get this feature you'll have to upgrade to a laptop. (And I'll bet that you thought no manufacturer would cater to your needs!)

It doesn't filter out nearly enough, though.

I see the problem, as many do, in the thoughtless way people allow themselves to be manipulated into things for the sake of the children. While parents are worried their children are being brain-washed by Mortal-Kombat, the Internet and homosexual teachers, they're letting themselves be brain-washed by politicians and advocacy groups.

We have advocacy groups lobbying for legislation to renovate the construction of plastic five-gallon buckets so that children won't drown in them. Do we really need legislation? Anything used the wrong way could lead to a death or injury (drink all the ink out of a box of Bic's and see how you feel). Now, if the advocacy group wants to lead a campaign to inform parents that if they leave big buckets of water around, their small children could fall in and die, fine. But don't force a change in the bucket design because a few parents can't excersize the handful of neurons that their parents (who's maiden-names are usually the same!) bread into them.

And for christ's sake, if we are going to legislate stupidity, than can't we at least punish it, too?

No, instead, we'll just propose a law to prevent people from doing dumb things. To get the law passed, we'll tell everyone it's for the sake of the children.

Please, do away with campaign contributions! -- It's for the children!.

There are many families where offing dear old mom and dad would be the best thing for the children, but when was the last time Gloria Steiner or Tipper Gore jumped on the bandwagon to for that? Never. Those are sure votes when it comes time to pump campaign money into flashy commercials.

I'm not at all for anarchy, but I am for a simplistic government. I don't need two-hundred laws regarding the construction of the card-board roll that my toilet-paper is wound around -- just make sure that I can wipe my bum without being gashed by shards of glass.

Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Comission's RFC For Safer Buckets
---
icq:2057699
seumas.com

It doesn't filter out nearly enough, though.

I see the problem, as many do, in the thoughtless way people allow themselves to be manipulated into things for the sake of the children. While parents are worried their children are being brain-washed by Mortal-Kombat, the Internet and homosexual teachers, they're letting themselves be brain-washed by politicians and advocacy groups.

We have advocacy groups lobbying for legislation to renovate the construction of plastic five-gallon buckets so that children won't drown in them. Do we really need legislation? Anything used the wrong way could lead to a death or injury (drink all the ink out of a box of Bic's and see how you feel). Now, if the advocacy group wants to lead a campaign to inform parents that if they leave big buckets of water around, their small children could fall in and die, fine. But don't force a change in the bucket design because a few parents can't excersize the handful of neurons that their parents (who's maiden-names are usually the same!) bread into them.

And for christ's sake, if we are going to legislate stupidity, than can't we at least punish it, too?

No, instead, we'll just propose a law to prevent people from doing dumb things. To get the law passed, we'll tell everyone it's for the sake of the children.

Please, do away with campaign contributions! -- It's for the children!.

There are many families where offing dear old mom and dad would be the best thing for the children, but when was the last time Gloria Steiner or Tipper Gore jumped on the bandwagon to for that? Never. Those are sure votes when it comes time to pump campaign money into flashy commercials.

I'm not at all for anarchy, but I am for a simplistic government. I don't need two-hundred laws regarding the construction of the card-board roll that my toilet-paper is wound around -- just make sure that I can wipe my bum without being gashed by shards of glass.

Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Comission's RFC For Safer Buckets
---
icq:2057699
seumas.com