Slashdot Mirror


PowerBook G4 Battery Recall

Beelsebob writes "Apple have put out a recall on a certain group of PowerBook G4 batteries. If you have a PowerBook G4 (Aluminum) 15" and your battery's model number is A1045, and its serial number starts HQ404, HQ405, HQ406, HQ407, or HQ408, then you could be at risk of it overheating."

46 of 337 comments (clear)

  1. Mmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I love baked Apples.

    1. Re:Mmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      I just ate an apple. It tasted like burning.

  2. yaay! by kmmatthews · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, it keeps my lap nice and warm, since I couldn't afford my heating bill after purchasing the powerbook... ;)

    Gotta get your priorities straight, s'all.

    --
    feh. stuff.
    1. Re:yaay! by ack154 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yes, but it is possible for your lap to get too warm.

      Yes... it's two yrs old, but it's still funny in small doses.

    2. Re:yaay! by kmmatthews · · Score: 2, Funny
      still funny in small doses

      Hey, c'mon, the heat blisters have expanded the size of my "tool" three times over! :)
      --
      feh. stuff.
    3. Re:yaay! by kmmatthews · · Score: 4, Funny

      He's just jealous that we have such nicely designed lap-warmers.

      *Points finger* Nyeah nyeah nyeah!

      :)

      --
      feh. stuff.
    4. Re:yaay! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
      Did you know that laptops have enough radiation to make you impotent?


      Best news I've heard all day. I'm tired of using condoms.
      (Moves laptop from table to lap)
    5. Re:yaay! by neuroklinik · · Score: 1, Funny

      7-11.5 hour battery life depending on options


      Which option is that? The "off" option?
  3. So that's why... by tao_of_biology · · Score: 5, Funny

    I have the phrase "HQ405" burned into the top of my thigh... All the chicks think it's a prison tatoo.

    --

    -- "A chicken is an egg's way of making another egg."

  4. OUCH! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Don't browse pron with one of these on your laps kids.

  5. Recipe for Caramel Apple Powerbooks by XaviorPenguin · · Score: 5, Funny

    1. Go to store and by some hard Caramel candy, at least a pound

    2. Place pieces unwrapped on keyboard of Powerbook and turn on. Place the pieces on every other key to allow maximum coverage of Caramel

    3. Let over heat and allow Caramel to spread

    4. Enjoy!

    --
    Friends help you move...
    REAL Friends help you move dead bodies... ^_^
  6. It already overheats. by Gannoc · · Score: 5, Funny

    I have a powerbook, and I love it, but after using it on my lap for 30 minutes, I can't have children anymore.

    1. Re:It already overheats. by StevenHenderson · · Score: 3, Funny

      Having children requires contact with a female silly. :)

  7. ::Looks at battery by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hmm HQ... cant see the rest. Its melted away. How do I tell?

  8. I WON! I won! by GillBates0 · · Score: 3, Funny
    ohh...

    never mind.

    --
    An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
  9. Hm by The-Bus · · Score: 3, Funny

    I didn't know Apple started putting Intel chips in their Powerbooks.

    --

    Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

  10. I know I'm going to get modded down for this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    But that's just natural selection eliminating Mac users from the genetic pool.

    1. Re:I know I'm going to get modded down for this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Many of them weren't in the running anyway, if you catch my drift.

    2. Re:I know I'm going to get modded down for this... by fdobbie · · Score: 1, Funny

      I thought they were all gay, anyway?

  11. Ah by iamdrscience · · Score: 4, Funny

    Reminds me of that ebay auction for a laptop cooling pad where the headline was "Don't burn your penis". Does anyone have a screenshot of that?

    I think "don't burn your penis" is good general advice as well, not just in regards to laptops.

  12. Dear Slashdot by Letter · · Score: 5, Funny
    Dear Slashdot,

    Here, lemme just pop out the battery and check my serial numb

    1. Re:Dear Slashdot by rampant+mac · · Score: 4, Funny
      "Funny, yes. But you can put it in hibernation and then look at the battery. I did, and lo and behold. The battery starts with HQ407, so I have filled out the form on the Apple recall site."

      That reminds me of when I was on a flight from Boston to Seattle and I was doing some work on the flight using my PowerBook. The battery started getting really low, and I remember saving my documents (Word, Keynote and Dreamweaver, if my memory serves me) and closing the lid, turning the laptop over and yanking out the battery... The man sitting next to me started to say "Hey, I don't think..." while I slapped in a fresh battery and opened up the lid, resuming my work where I had left off. "Wow, that's amazing!" he exclaimed. "Yeah, it is nice to be able to work the whole time during these long flights." I replied. To my horror the moron (who was using an older model Thinkpad) flips his laptop over and proceeds to rip out his battery right before my very eyes only to discover, moments later, that his computer didn't support hibernation mode quite as well.

      He didn't save his work before attempting said stunt.

      We didn't talk much after that.

      --
      I like big butts and I cannot lie.
  13. Hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm going on an international flight next week. Does this mean that I'll get stopped by security when I try to take my Powerbook through? :-)

  14. Re:Look at the date of manufacture.... by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Funny

    Toasted laptops? That's not the problem. Roasted nuts are the problem.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  15. I can see it now by StevenHenderson · · Score: 5, Funny

    Guy #1: "Man this Powerbook is HOT."
    Guy #2: "Yeah, it is pretty sexy I guess."
    Guy #1: "No, I mean it is singeing my pubes dude."

  16. New battery!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    New battery? For free? Ahh, kick ass!!!!!
    Those third degree burns are finally starting to pay off!!!!

  17. Way offtopic by wiredog · · Score: 1, Funny
    But I knew a guy who did that. Ya see, he came home one night, drunk, and the power was out. But he had to piss. So he went into the bathroom. Lights were out. So he used the cigarette lighter to provide light so he could aim. Then he grabbed his willy so that he could piss. He grabbed it with the hand holding the lit cigarette lighter.

    He was very drunk...

  18. Re:O_o by stratjakt · · Score: 5, Funny

    Can't help but notice you felt it was important to use the qualifier "normally".

    I *always* wear pants (or another suitable garment to cover my genitals) when in the same room with other men, whether I'm using a computer or not.

    --
    I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
  19. I know I'm going to get modded up for this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    But the fact that linux can achieve this same effect in just software really shows the power of open source. (insert keyboard characters to show humor)

  20. The Replacement Process by AgTiger · · Score: 4, Funny

    "After serial number verification, a new battery will be shipped to you free of charge. When you receive the replacement battery, please use the same shipping envelope and included prepaid shipping label to return the recalled battery to Apple."

    How appropriate, they're using an in-the-field hot-swap method. ;-)

    "The swap's hot, so it doesn't get too hot." (my version of Yogi Berra's logic in the infamous AFLAC Barber Shop commercial.)

  21. Re:Bah by dr_dank · · Score: 5, Funny

    Except for some humorous posts involving aptly-named musician Bruce Cockburn.

    --
    Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
  22. could be worse... by WormholeFiend · · Score: 3, Funny

    at least it's not a Con Ed manhole cover.

  23. Re:I'm writing a letter to the FAA and TSA right n by squiggleslash · · Score: 2, Funny
    Great, now we're going to have hysterical articles from Annie Jacobsen about Syrian musicians who are trying to use "Garageband" on a PowerBook while in flight.
    It was terrifying. Each followed a ritual where they would drink a large glass of iced tea and then immediately, 30 minutes later, went to the bathroom. For what purpose I wondered? It became clear when they pulled out seven large PowerBooks. "Allah be praised for such a wonderful tool!" cried one, launching something called GarageBand. Garage, Band. Garages - the traditional location for the terrorist to manufacture a bomb, far from prying eyes, and bands - what you'd use to wrap around a bomb to keep it together? So obvious! And with the PowerBook's infamous exploding batteries I realised it straight away - these were no laptops, these were the bombs, the devices they intended to use to blow us to kingdom come!

    I called over an air steward. She sympathized with me. "Yes, it does look sort of suspicious if you're paranoid" she agreed, "but actually they're just musicians". "Is there an air marshall on board?" I asked. "Look, it's all in hand, there's nothing to worry about" she replied, clearly terrified out of her mind.

    My worst suspicions were confirmed when she quickly, 45 minutes later, spoke to a man on the back row. He came up to me. "There's nothing to worry about, I'm an US Air Marshall ma'am, if anything were to happen I'd be here". "Thank god!" I cried, jumping up with relief, "An air marshall! There's an air marshall on board! We don't have to worry about those shifty-looking Arabian featured terrorists!"

    (Continued on page 94...)

    --
    You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  24. Apple Store by lateralus_1024 · · Score: 3, Funny

    "I actually saw a salesguy at the Apple Store try to sell a Powerbook while it was on fire! True story. The customer was hesitant at first, but when he offered to throw in a refurbished 5GB iPod with spare battery assembly kit for an additional $179, the customer caved in.
    Another AppleStore salesguy chimed in and moved in to assist. He added that this Powerbook will virtually seemlessly integrate to the 2007 BMW 6 series."

    Total cost of Mac ownership:
    $2199(powerbook)
    +$179(refurb/discoun ted iPod)
    +$45999-67000 estimated MSRP(BMW 6Series)options vary

    TCO = ~49000-70000 USDollars.

    This independent case study brought to you buy MSFT/Dell.

    --
    If you think /. comments are bad, check out Digg.
  25. You forgot one step... by Joey+Patterson · · Score: 3, Funny
  26. Dead battery by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I must have a dead battery. Explains why my P-P-P-PowerBook won't turn on.

  27. Just in time! by Tairnyn · · Score: 2, Funny

    In other news, air cooled by the frigid waters deep in Lake Ontario started bringing relief to G4 Powerbooks in downtown Toronto on Tuesday after the valves were symbolically opened on the multi-million-dollar project. http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/1 8/0056252&tid=126&tid=14

    --
    "Don't waste your time or time will waste you" -MUSE
  28. Re:O_o by Josh+Booth · · Score: 3, Funny

    Maybe the other person was a woman...

    Oh, wait, it's Slashdot. My bad.

  29. Re:Mmmm... by JLyle · · Score: 2, Funny
    Okay, lets just get the low hanging fruit out of the way...
    If you've been letting your PowerBook rest on your lap, you'd better hope the low-hanging fruit was already out of the way.
  30. Alt. use for defective battery - practical jokes by IronChefMorimoto · · Score: 2, Funny

    My friend was over at my place last night gaming with one of the affected Macs. Lo and behold, the battery was hot as hell after a few hours. I think I could find a use for the defective battery, though.

    Run laptop for 2 hours. Remove battery. Find sleeping roommate/spouse. Put hot battery in roommate's/spouse's left hand. Watch person piss themselves. Retrieve battery. Laugh.

    It's a lot simpler than using the warm water/left-hand/piss in your pants trick, since no one will ever suspect the battery. ;-)

    Of course, if you're doing this to your spouse (considered the joke on wife last night), you probably shouldn't be allowed to have a computer anyway until you get out of therapy.

    IronChefMorimoto

  31. OUCH!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    But I hate roasted nuts!

  32. Common AA's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is the bad thing about PROPRIETARY BATTERIES .

    Support the engineers who build their devices around common, replaceable batteries. You really can buy lithium-ion cells. And metal-hydride cells.

  33. 404 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    i had a battery with serial HQ404 but i cant find it anywhere :(

  34. Re:mannnnnn by canUbeleiveIT · · Score: 1, Funny

    when I put my battery into my mom's powerbook

    Hmmm...am I the only one uncomfortable with this phrase.

  35. Re:Year of the Portable my butt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    Please! Write a letter to the Department of Transportation

    Tell them that you want Apple Powerbooks BANNED from using the in-flight laptop power (which will charge batteries) available in many first- and business- class sections of airplanes.

    This is a very dangerous and serious situation! The DOT is concerned enough to ban Knitting Needles (maybe someone could knit an Afghan!); why not ban something that poses a REAL DANGER?

    Write letters to the editors, call local call-in shows, and do all the "Guy Kawasaki" style virus marketing that Apple loves so much. Let people know that having an Apple Powerbook charging on an airplane is a recipe for disaster!

  36. Battery Timing by russotto · · Score: 2, Funny

    The defective batteries were manufactured the last week of 2003. Get the feeling the regular (senior) QC people were taking the whole week off and the poor slobs at the bottom of the totem pole were stuck at work during the holiday? (yes, both Christmas and New Years Day are Korean holidays)