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Laptop Explodes at Japanese Conference
An anonymous reader writes "A laptop reported to be a Dell burst into flame and was caught on camera during a recent Japanese conference. Guess this laptop could be a poster child to prove that laptops really can cause sterility if they are on your lap."
Perhaps this will convince manufacturers to start thinking about the temperatures that their computers run at. Sure, they make sure that the processor and hard drive run below their rated maximum temperatures, but in a practical sense, they've been letting computers run too hot. My Asus M2400Ne runs pretty cool most of the time, but the hard drive and AC adapter (both the power brick and the plug) can get so hot that they burn you a little if you hold them for a few seconds. This is ridiculous. You can't build a product that reaches insane temperatures, and then stick a little label that says "Do not use with less than 3 feet of space next to eachvent" on it! Let's see some better cooling. Personally, I think a laptop with one big (4 to 6 inches), slowly rotating fan in the middle of the bottom, plus exhaust vents on the sides and back, would actually look nice, keep the laptop much cooler (no more "hot spots" on the keyboard), and run quietly. (You'd need rubber feet to hold it up enough, but most bottom vents need them.) This would probably also help with blocked vents, since it's much harder to block a huge circle-shaped vent in the middle of the case than a small square vent near the side, where the laptop is likely to rest on your leg.
ttuttle is a rankmaniac
In both pictures, you can see an open carafe of water (on the left).
Maybe it ties into the explosion/fire.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
I responded to the Dell AC recall with their official website form. Two units. Never heard from them again.
That made me certain that Dell incompetence would make my bricks explode.
I replaced them at my own expense. And considered sneaking into a Dell office and swapping mine in for theirs.
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make install -not war
That's why I went to a local electronics junk/surplus store and got a large aluminum plate with fins (a heatsink off of something huge) about the size of the base of my laptop, and place it between my lap and my laptop. It's relatively thin aluminum, so it's not too heavy, and it keeps my nuts from roasting.
You think the D600 get's hot?
When the D600 battery goes defective they can get insane hot to melt the case plastic a bit when left on the charger.
Of the fleet of D600's we have here (190 laptops) I have replaced about 50% of the batteries and of them 25% damaged the laptop case. (laptops were rolled out last year this time.)
I'm betting the laptop in the photos is a D600 with a bad battery that was left on the charger for a long time causing it to fail dramatically.
My D800 and D400 both get insane hot but the D600 is the only one that scares me.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
One story like this costs the company a LOT more than the cost of a settlement or the cost of replacement of 1000 units.
The questions I have are.. Has this story been verified and not staged? Maybe it was just someone who hates dell? What news conference did this happen at? Why's it so difficult to get a model #, or get another closer shot after the fire was put out?