A number of computer manufacturers are facing a shortage of laptop batteries because or a recent fire at the LG Chem Ochang plant in South Korea. To find out more about this, head on over to the full article by clicking on the "read more" link below.

Next time, think twice before deciding to let your laptop sit on a pillow while being used. Reports came in that a Samsung notebook's batteries melted while being used on a pillow, setting fire on the bed and floor in a house in South Korea. More details in the full article.

It's a fact: battery life is one of the more pressing issues that laptop owners have to deal with every day. Some even go so far as to lug along an extra charged battery to avoid running out of juice on the go, while some have to make room in their busy schedules just to plug in their laptop somewhere and have it charged.

Those practices may become the thing of the past, however, if reports of batteries that last for 30 years without charging are true. Apparently, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory is now working on one such battery that runs on betavoltaic power.

How does it work? The radioactive material that slowly decays inside the battery emits beta particles which turns into electricity. The decay process is very slow, slow enough for it to run about 30 years without charging. The batteries can be used for electronic devices such as laptops and mobile phones.

Surprisingly, these batteries won't be as large and heavy as most other laptop batteries. Next Energy News supposes that these long-lasting batteries will be small and thin, and will not heat in the same way as conventional batteries do. Can we say goodbye now to burned laps (or laptop explosions)?

This is certainly one very exciting gadget to look forward to. Will we see it in the near future? We sure do hope so.

Not long after the last battery recall announcement, Toshiba is once again recalling Sony-manufactured batteries being used for a small number of laptop units, estimated to be about only 1,400 in number. This time, the affected laptop models are the Satellite A100, A105, and Tecra A7. If you happen to own any of the mentioned laptops, it would best to send in your battery as soon as possible and get a replacement. The replacements are going to be free anyway.

Toshiba's battery recall that was issued last month also involved Sony-manufactured batteries, and as many as 9.6 million units have been recalled since last year. However, it seems that problems still arise despite the measures that the company has taken to rectify the problem, which may eventually spell trouble for Sony.

We thought all of these battery issues were over but it seems that we were wrong. Toshiba reported earlier today that it has once again recalled laptop computer batteries manufactured by Sony due to fire risk.

According to the company's latest count, around 5,100 battery packs have been listed as defective. Despite that, Toshiba decided to recall more than 10,000 battery packs to make sure all the defective packs containing targeted battery cells are exchanged.

To date, a total number of 9.6 million Sony batteries have already been recalled since last year. That cost Sony a whopping amount of 51 billion yen (US$ 418 million). A Sony spokesperson commented that the recent recall shouldn't have a big impact to their business because of its relatively small scale.

It should be remembered that companies other than Toshiba such as Fujitsu and Hitachi have been thinking if they are going to seek compensation from Sony.

The Aero Glass interface is what Vista uses to implement the pretty animated transitions and clear windows when switching between applications. Now, this could also be the reason why Vista has been draining laptop batteries faster. When Aero isn't active, it's been said that the battery consumption is comparable (if not better) than Windows XP.

A technologist from Hewlett-Packard John Wozniak has spoken about the inherent problem of the system, saying "They've really made it complex from a power management standpoint. The potential is there to do some good things, the bad thing is that it comes with the canned settings... and we didn't like any of them." This is a pretty common reaction because even Lenovo has done the same thing with their laptops.

Microsoft is unfazed by this. They are actually encouraging PC companies to customize the power settings saying "We actively encourage (PC companies) to customize the default power profiles so that users get the most out of their hardware." in their statement about the current "power draining issues" of Vista. Now, we have to remember that Vista had been marketed as being more power efficient before, unfortunately a lot of people feel that this isn't true and want more from the OS.

A lot of other distinguished people have spoken on the current problem and how they are addressing it. If you want to read more, you can see the full article via our read link.

We thought we were done with this story, because it's so 2006. Down Under, an Australian MacBook owner by the name of mattyb posted on the MacTalk (AU) forums the story of his close brush with Dell death. The short version of this story is that his MacBook battery seemed to have problems and finally went up in smoke (and flames) one early morning one day ago.

Unabridged version of his story is at the Read link, but the gist is that he's been having odd battery problems the past couple of weeks. The real weird part of the story is that he bought his MacBook end of June of last year - so this thing occurred within the 12-month warranty.

Based on the evidence (not to mention the damage pattern), the battery is suspect - but that will depend on whatever Apple Australia finds if and when mattyb sends his damaged unit in for repair autopsy.

Guess we're going to have to repeat the PSA we've aired last year. Don't overcharge the battery, if that MacBook gets abnormally hot, start worrying, if at any point those batteries are swelling up to the point of bursting out of their MacBooks, really start worrying, and don't wait for the smoke to start pouring. You know how hot the MacBook can sometimes get, right?

Oh, and mattyb also suggests on checking your smoke alarm detectors. You don't want them malfunctioning when a fire starts while you're sleeping.

Are you a Mac aficionado who just so happens to think that searching for alternative energy sources - i.e. the sun - is the only way that us humans can hope to extend our stay in this big bad galaxy? If so, then you better hope you have US$ 180 to spare. According to Treehugger.com, that's the estimated cost of the home-made, portable solar kit that Pat, a blogger from Will Blog For Experience, used to power his MacBook. Here's what Pat himself said:

This kit weighs about 2 lbs, costs $180, and will power my Macbook for 1.75 hours (1.83ghz, browsing the web and checking email via Airport Extreme, bluetooth off, screen brightness about 70%) with a little more than 5 hours of good sun.

Frankly, this gadget is one hell of a good idea. An initial expenditure of a hundred and eighty bucks seems like a pretty big amount, but just the thought of how much we'll be able to save in the long run certainly has an appeal, plus, when folded, the whole thing really seems quite easy to lug around. And it's not just for MacBooks and other laptops, too. We reckon you can use this portable power source for a whole host of other gadgets. Check it out for yourself. Images of the environmentally-friendly doodad are available below.

 

Samsung Electronics has developed a new docking station equipped with a fuel cell capable of powering a laptop for a month.

The docking station was designed for Samsung's Q35 ultraportable laptop, and it contains a 1200-watt-hour fuel cell which is reportedly capable of feeding a laptop with enough juice to keep it up and running for eight hours a day, five days a week for a month.

A miniature version, which can power a laptop for more than 15 hours on a coffee cup's worth of fuel, is also in the works. No details were given on exactly how big the cup of coffee in question is.

Samsung's laptop dock uses a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell with a maximum output of 20 watts. Please note that it's "methanol" and not "methane," just in case you were thinking along the lines of funny toilet humor. DMFCs are best suited to producing small amounts of power over a long periods at low temperatures, and  according to Samsung, the cell's 650Wh/L energy density is roughly four times that of its competitors.

The dock is scheduled to launch at the end of 2007.

If you're one of the people who are thinking this should be obvious, then you'll be hard pressed to find someone who'll disagree with you on that assessment. Fujitsu, Hitachi, and Toshiba are all thinking about getting some sort of compensation from Sony as a result of their faulty batteries and the subsequent need to recall a portion of them.

For all those who still haven't heard of the Sony battery problem, this all started with exploding laptops. Specifically, a laptop at a Japanese conference burst into flames. It's been traced back to Sony's battery, which has instigated a lot of security measures to lessen the chances of another accident occurring. As a result of this, different laptop manufacturers have begun to recall Sony batteries that could also be responsible for future accidents.

While it does seem rather fitting for the three laptop companies to request some money back, in the same way their respective consumers are probably going to do, you have to wonder how much hurt Sony can take. In addition to the battery recall, which they expect to lose at least half a billion on, they're also getting some trouble on the gaming side with their PS3 problems. All in all, this also lowers Sony's stocks and total value. While they probably could afford to compensate the affected companies, the steep penalties they'll be incurring from it can also hurt the companies getting compensated in the long run. Still, if there's a way for Sony and the laptop makers to get back on their feet and restore their good name among consumers, we're definitely all for it.