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Battery
Oh, Good. Another In-Flight Fire Hazard to Worry About
In-flight fires caused by gadgets are back in the news after a recent piece in the New York Times warned of yet another risk: fires caused by the rechargable lithium batteries in handheld credit-card machines used by flight attendants to ring up purchases. The Federal Aviation Administration considers the batteries hazardous, and requires special training for flight attendants on airlines who carry spare batteries (some airlines, like Delta and JetBlue, don't carry spare batteries at all).
No fires from the readers have been reported, but according to the same article, in the last two years, a portable DVD has caught fire on a plane, a flashlight placed in a storage compartment exploded, turning into a projectile, and eight people were injured when a battery fell against a metal seat frame and exploded.
How-To: Store Your Household Batteries
Like humans, batteries are perishable products that deteriorate from the start of their lives. But, like eating well and using SPF, there are a few things you can do to slow their aging. Following an old wives' tale, my grandmother always kept her batteries in the freezer.
Geek Tip: Use Q-Tips to Make Your Battery Last Longer
From the office of Yes, Really comes this tip for maintaining maximum cell phone and laptop battery life: Real Simple advises you to swipe a cotton swab dipped in alcohol across the battery contacts (make sure it's not dripping with alcohol, I assume).
They say this helps "maintain good battery connections and sustain the charge for a longer time."
Well, hot damn.
How to Extend Your MacBook's Battery Life
Yesterday, PetSugar asked me a great question — how can she extend the life of the battery in her new MacBook Air? I gave her some of my "battery-saving" tips, but I didn't know if her notebook should be plugged in all day when it's turned off (and fully charged) — something she was concerned about, and something I do all of the time. Keep reading to find out the answers to some of the most popular MacBook battery conundrums.
Geek Out: Do You Charge Your Gadgets Before Your First Use?
I finally invested in the Clarisonic device that Bella has been raving about and rushed home to try it, only to find the instructions suggest charging the device for 24 hours before its first use. It was the ultimate luxury gadget letdown — all I wanted to do was test it, and I had to wait patiently.
Most battery experts claim you can prolong battery life by charging them fully before their inaugural use.
Disposal of Toxic Products Made Easy (in SF, That Is)
I consider myself a fairly eco-chic kinda gal, but I'm always looking for ways to be greener. Living in San Francisco, I try to utilize all the amazing services that offer to reuse or recycle your old gadgets, but it isn't easy keeping track of which ones take which (batteries, or cell phones or televisions). .
What's the Worst Tech Disaster You've Ever Suffered?
Recently a quarry worker in South Korea was found dead with a melted phone battery in his shirt pocket. He also had a broken spine and ribs as well as heart and lung injuries, but his death was initially blamed on an exploding cell phone battery.
Predictably, the National Institute of Scientific Investigation found that the injuries the man suffered were too substantial to have been caused by a battery explosion, but the fact that they could have been responsible for the man's death got me thinking.
46 Million Nokia Batteries Are Too Hot To Handle
Watch out all you Nokia cell phone users! According to the New York Times, Nokia has just warned customers that a whopping 46 million of its BL-5C cell phone batteries could potentially overheat. Due to a possible short-circuit while charging, the battery can easily shift and cause many problems.
How To Replace Your iPod's Battery
PartySugar's slightly robust first generation iPod has been sitting at geeksugar central for longer than we want to admit. (We joke with the "robust" comment - Party gets major vintage geek points for owning and still using the first gen iPod!) Despite our fear of blood, we finally decided to perform the surgery. You'll be pleased to know it went well.
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