Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Laptop Batteries


With the recent recall by Dell, the treatment of batteries come to mind. Here are some good guidelines for how to treat a computer laptop battery. The New York Times has also provided some good information on care for batteries and offers some possible solutions. Normally, I don't find the NY Times leading the way with useful technical information, but this article is worth the trouble to register.

Some of the guidelines, such as keep laptops out of high heat and don't leave computers constantly charging are real concerns for mobile laptop carts. While the computer lab may be air conditioned, the cart could be left in a heated classroom for long periods of time. The most important thing to remember is that a battery is a serious piece of hardware. The only thing that makes it safe is a multi-level safety system. We now know what happens when that fails.

T

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