cardaway said:
Should have asked yourself why Sony would take responsibility if it was Dell's oeprating system.
Experts say the problem is caused by a manufacturing error by Sony, where metallic impurities were introduced into some of the batteries. The metallic parts may then intrude through the insulation that is supposed to keep apart the anode and cathode elements in the battery cells, leading to a spark that can cause a fire.
The batteries covered by the recall were produced by Sony over the past two years. The same batteries are also used by other computer makers, although the Sony spokesman said the problem was restricted to those used by Dell.
Not exactly. Every battery made has this issue. The design of the notebook, which was by Dell determines what will happen when the battery does have a problem. Why would Sony help pay even if they felt they were blameless? Because that is how business works. For example Dell doesn't want to take all the heat. They go to Sony and say, if you share some of this and help pay for it we will guarentee you our battery business AND all our CD-Rom drive business for xx years.
It's NEVER as simple as it appears.
Here is a more technical explanation of the battery issue from computerworld:
The defect was caused by a short circuit that happens when microscopic metal particles break through the lithium ion cell wall and contact a battery anode, said Sony spokesman Rick Clancy.
"You try to eliminate that in the manufacturing process, but to eliminate them 100% is very difficult. Usually, when you have a short circuit, it might lead to a battery powering down so you'd have a dead battery, but other times, it could lead to incidents, including flaming," Clancy said
The chances of a short circuit depend on the design of each PC, such as whether the battery cells are aligned in parallel or are perpendicular, and their proximity to heat sources such as the processor and power supply. But ultimately, the odds are against the engineers. Despite the challenge of blocking every particle, the number of short circuits has been very low, Sony insists.
Yes, I'm a cheap date...happy to save money any way I can!
