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IBM Recalls 553,000 Laptop Power Units

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the if-apple-can-do-it dept.

qewl writes "The 56-watt adapters can overheat, cause damage to the circuit board and melt through the case, the company and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said. About 225,000 of the adapters are being recalled in the United states. The power adapters were shipped mostly with IBM ThinkPad i Series, ThinkPad 390 and 240 Series and a limited number of ThinkPad s Series laptop computers and have the part number 02K6549, the agency said."

6 of 136 comments (clear)

  1. I Wonder.. by FiReaNGeL · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I wonder in how many products this kind of thing happen, but at a smaller scale, without forcing the company to do a recall. Happened with my sister's laptop power converter, causing the board to fry... oops, warranty's not valid anymore, you're screwed!

    Obligatory Fight Club reference :

    If a new car built by my company leaves Chicago traveling west at 60 miles per hour, and the rear differential locks up, and the car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside, does my company initiate a recall?

    You take the population of vehicles 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. This 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 cars and no one gets hurt.

    If X is less than the cost of a recall, then we don't recall.

    Kinda scary when you consider cars instead of laptops...

    --
    Eureka Science News - automatically updated
  2. weird by kg_o.O · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The computers were sold between January 1999 and August 2000 They received SIX reports after 4 years since releasing this stuff and they're recalling the whole series? Weird.. A power adapter CAN break after 4 years of intense usage.. it just happens, right? :)

    1. Re:weird by Carnildo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes, a power adapter can break after four years of usage. It should not break in such a way that it presents a fire hazard.

      --
      "They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
  3. Why IBM did this. by ubiquitin · · Score: 3, Insightful

    They get a marketing database filled full of people who were using older (late nineties) hardware that would be ripe for upgrades. At the same time that they're collecting the data, it makes IBM look responsible, it gives IBM a chance to talk to their customers with said older hardware, and casts FUD on the reliability of equipment that is out of warranty. The true cost of the power adapters in bulk is easily less than $5. Hell, shipping the thing out probably cost more than the adapter itself! This is timed to give IBM customer information just in time for holidays 2005. The must smell a replacement season coming on. When it comes to direct/consumer marketing, you can't be too paranoid.

    --
    http://tinyurl.com/4ny52
  4. Lap Heat by xombo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Laptop reviews should include bottom temperatures for "lap" users.

  5. Re:oh GOOD by tekrat · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It isn't just boy geeks who have the tendency to go "EEP!" and retreat to the warm glow of their computer when a member of the opposite sex talks to them!

    Thank God. I thought I was the only one that screwed up. You've given me hope that maybe I'm actually a little normal.

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.