Laptops at risk

last updated 8 January 2015

Austin

Dell Computer announced this week it was recalling 4.1 million lithium-ion batteries used in laptop PCs because they might cause the computers to catch fire. The move, said to be the consumer electronics industry’s largest-ever safety-related recall, followed several incidents involving Dell laptops, including a fire that started when an overheated computer ignited ammunition stored in a truck’s glove box. The ammunition exploded, leaving the truck a burned-out hulk. “I see Dell commercials half a dozen times a night, saying, ‘What can we build for you today?’” said Thomas Foqueran, 62, who inherited the 1966 Ford F-250 from his father. “And I say, ‘Grandpa’s truck.’”