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IBM Recalls 553,000 Laptop Power Units
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."
Looks like IBM has been working a little too closely with Apple.. it's starting to rub off on them.
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if 533,000 of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.
Norman Cook's Ode to Sl
the recalled machines will be sold to gericom, who puts a new sticker on them and resells them as brand-new-bleeding-edge-desktop replacment. melting through plastic is a side effect that is expected of their machines.
Only morons moderate based on a sig.
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
It wants this story back.
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? :)
I thought we were all going to be using single chip power supplys like the Tinyswitch... they can do 240 to 5v on a chip connected directly to the mains and sink about 800ma.
They were going to be the next big thing, and then we were all back to switched mode blocks with all their coils and components and heatsinks.
I am so sick of people stealing Apple's ideas.
So much for trading my PowerBook in for a Thinkpad, either way I might get burned.
Hi there
The computers were sold between January 1999 and August 2000
Note that IBM shipped a revised product under the SAME part number after August 2000... if you think you qualify, make sure to look at the details - it has to have HOLLOW pins look here to be part of the recall.
The burning sensation's from the LAPTOP... I was wondering how the hell a geek like myself (can't get laid to save my life) caught an STD...
That's just the kind of thing you want on top of your lap...
There's smoke coming out of your crotch...Is the power unit in your laptop melting or are you just REALLY happy to see me?
Sailors. Oh man!
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
This is the one I have! Im so happy cause mine crapped out on me like the year I got it and I just got a new one. This is so great, because I didnt throw that one away, now I can get another new one for free!! (the new one I got after was model 02k6543)... Interesting story, first hand acount of this fire problem happening. This is the ps that all the teachers use(d) at my high school like 5 years ago and one caught fire and the building had to be evacuated. That was like 3 years ago though.
Got an ice cold Aluminum powerbook on my chest that begs to differ with you.
Want a cool lappy? You have to buy one that breathes (good ventilation, metal case, good board layout), shuts off the hard drive often as it can and one that has a real mobile processor such as a Pentium M or G4. You can't buy a machine with a desktop chip like the Athlon XP or P4 laptops and expect it not to be a fusion reactor...the price you pay for a little extra speed is third degree burns, not to mention heavier batteries with decreased life. The Powerbook battery is something like half a pound and you can keep an extra one in your pocket (they're smaller than palm pilots).
Hey freaks: now you're ju