Battery Recalls

If you have any Dell or Apple laptops, you may need to send their batteries off to the respective company for a free replacement...

Sony, the company that manufactures the batteries for these, and many other computer OEMs, has informed computer companies that batteries supplied for products shipped roughly between April 2004 and July 2006 had a manufacturing defect, and were contaminated with metal fragments that could potentially cause over-heating or even fire. Therefore Dell and Apple have decided to recall 4.1 and 1.8 million batteries each, and more recalls from other companies are likely to follow.

Two high profile fires have actually already been reported in Dell batteries, and the companies laptop computers have even been banned from use via battery on certain airlines. It is therefore potentially a real safety issue, and if you or your orginisation have any of the following laptop models, you should think about returning the batteries as soon as possible:

DELL:
Latitude: D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810
Inspiron: 500M, 510M, 600M, 700M, 710M, 6000, 6400, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 9400, E1505, E1705
Precision: M20, M60, M70, M90
XPS: XPS, XPS Gen2, XPS M170, XPS M1710

More information on Dell's recall is available here

APPLE:
Computer model name - Battery model number - Battery serial numbers
12-inch iBook G4 - A1061 - ZZ338 through ZZ427, 3K429 through 3K611, 6C510 through 6C626
12-inch PowerBook G4 - A1079 - ZZ411 through ZZ427, 3K428 through 3K611
15-inch PowerBook G4 - A1078 and A1148 - 3K425 through 3K601, 6N530 through 6N551, 6N601

More information on Apple's recall is available here

Like Tech? You need Geek News

Do you like using Technology? Are you interested in tech but want to know a little more? Then Geek News Central is the Website for you.

I first discovered the website when I was looking to learn more about Podcasting. After searching Amazon.co.uk for Podcasting books, I came across the "Podcasting Do it yourself guide" by Todd Cochrane which, at the time looked like the best buy due to excellent reviews I had read.

I decided to take a chance and buy the book, I wasn't disappointed. The book covered all aspects of podcasting, such as the history of podcasting, concepts, equipment needed and planning and preparation for shows. Todd even explained how he puts his own show together. After reading the book from cover to cover and feeling confident that I had a good idea of how to get started, I went to check the "Geek News Central Podcast".

Now, if you're anything like me, the word "Geek" can be a little offputting. I was a skeptical that the content would really appeal to me as I don't think of myself as a stereotypical geek.

Being curious as to how I was stereotyping "Geeks" I did a quick search for the meaning of the word. For me, the most accurate description was this:-
A person who is interested in technology, especially computing and new media. Comparable with the classic definition of hacker. (Late 20th century and early 21st century.)

So, having gotten over my predjudice I decided to give the show a listen and see if I could learn anything without being baffled by Technobabble.

As soon as the show started, I was confronted with a somewhat "whiney" American voice that grated on my nerves at first. However, The Friendly and personalble nature of the presenter "Todd Cochrane" was what made me keep listening, . Todd has this amazing way to make you feel as though you have known him all your life, it's as though he's right there with you.

When talking technology Todd always tries to give the listeners a little background on each topic so that you can get upto speed on issues that might have otherwise passed you by.
Throughout the Show Todd Gives his listeners lots of Tech news to follow up on as well as a good share of opinion, which listeners are free to comment on. As well as the News he presents loats of useful links for listeners to check up on. He posts all the podcast topics on the Geek News Central Podcasts weblog, so you can go over the topics at your own pace later, which is something many other podcasters consistently fail to do.

Cochrane has received some criticism from listeners about his presentational style. This is mostly because as well as "Talking Tech" he tells us about his family and home life too.

It seems though his detractors only want technology talk. I personally commend Todd for speaking about his family on the show, like many professional radio presenters he gives you a more rounded picture of who he really is. This approach allows the listener to become more connected to both presenter and show. For those of us who have spouses and children of our own, you can draw parallels and empathic with a good guy who enjoys juggling technology and family life.

So, if you are interested in technology and would like to learn more from a friendly and informative host, then I fully recommend you get over to geeknewscentral.com , read the blog posts and comments, download the podcast and become part of the family.

The PC is 25 years old

Just the other Day, I was talking with my colleagues about how I had been using the NET for 10 years and how many changes had taken place in that time. Then today, I noticed that the BBC was promoting 25 years of the PC and 15 years of the Web. I thought I'd share some of the links with you.

25 years of the PC Link:

The links are small video clips that cover topics like rise of the PC and hint at its possible demise as we move to digital, handheld communications era. Then there is a poets take of the history of the web, reasonably amusing for those of us who can remember a world without the web.

Poem and analysis link:

Promote your City - Map it

Recently I have been posting locations in Stoke on Google Earth . Now, I have endevoured to make a few posts on Flagr too. The point of this is to use web 2.0 applications to share information cheaply and easily.

Before if anyone wanted to evangelise about their town they had to puchase a domain name, learn about FTP and web design just to get the information out there.

With sites like Flagr etc, we can simply sign up and post whatever information we want to share.

Flagr allows members to place small markers on a map at places of interest. It allows you to add details and even photographs of the place you are flagging.

This is a great way fro small villages to raise their profile.

The Flagr site allows you to see the world in map, satellite or hybrid view, so you can accurately find the places you want to flag. The Satellite view is my favourite. It's easy to find your house.

We can use this to flag useful places that will help other members of the community become aware of places they may have not even known about before. Beyond that, we can help to boost Travel and Tourism for places that operate on a limited budget.

Of course the site relies on the goodwill and common sense of users. Even though the site is moderated, it is hoped that the flags made are relatively serious and useful as opposed to spiteful or trivial posts.

Why not check the site out, and see what you can add to the map of Stoke on Trent? Perhpas we can build up a detailed map of our city and all the acivities and services it has to offer.