Exploding ThinkPad attacks man, burns through bed
By Paul Miller 
posted January 19th 2008 4:49PM
posted January 19th 2008 4:49PM
posted January 19th 2008 4:49PM
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I love how unobservant you are. The battery didn't explode. Looked at the photos? No you havn't have you.
What suprised me most about this story was how many analytically moronic people turned up at my blog. And I was thinking, "Where the hell did this high concentration of conspiratorial retards come from?" - Engaget!
When I used a laptop, years ago, I would rest it on a thick phone book I kept in the FREEZER. I'd turn back a chunk of pages every now and then to make sure the device didn't get too WARM.
Little did I know I was keeping the houuse from BURNING DOWN.
Regarding the "real or fake broken screen" debate: Anyone notice how the whole screen seems to be broken, the signal seems to be distorted even in the non-cracked areas? But then there is the tiny white arrow on the left. It could of course be that the pointer remains in the last working corner of the screen, but this at least doesn't support the "real broken screen" argument...
I once slept with my R51e at home
(With my blankets on) (I must have been too sleepy)
And nothing happened while my computer was running Diskeeper, the computer did get warm but never anywhere near hot. I wonder did he plugged his usb vibrating rabbit in it and it got shorted(these things does happen).
But it is very unlikely that a R series will get over heat(Since it runs a poor-speed cpu from last century) but more likely the power supply (Yes it is really hot)
No the power supply was on the ground. Look guys I think the rug must have got caught up in the vents. Probably because I was kicking them in my sleep. I had blisters on my foot. I think maybe thats what woke me up but I'm not sure - you know when you wake up you're OS is booting up. But if the amygdala sends out a mayday you go into Fight - small details arn't relevant at this point.
Another reason why Macs are superior.
How many Pc notebooks have exploded in 2007?
I can guarantee no Macbooks suffered this fate.
Way to read the other comments which used logic (Like, buying a $1000 laptop vs. a $1800 one with the same specs, but the other one comes in an envelope) to find that is was a fake.
Oh god, not you again.
Mac hardware isn't magical.
An apple battery is the same as any PC battery.
I know you weren't born yet in 2006, but if you ask your parent's they will tell you that Apple had to recall batteries because some were exploding. That is because they were the same sony batteries that were used in Dell computers.
Even if this story were true, the battery and not the Thinkpad would be at fault.
I had no idea PC was a single company.
How about instead citing actual companies instead of an entire industry against a single company. Oh but that wouldn't be fair because then your point would be invalidated. :(
I took a minute and googled up macbook pro battery failure and was able to come up with simple results.
http://www.appledefects.com/wiki/index.php?title=MacBook_Pro
ffs. read up before you open your mouth and spew bad claims.
Loads of Macs have exploded, Douchebag.
I'm a Mac fan and all but you make us look even worse then we already are now! (It's in the shits)
Now, go away for several years until you've grown up.
I think the only advantage to the Macbook's hardware might be that the fan is actually located on the rear of the unit. Keeping it from being blocked as easily.
@Miles - you mactards have such a short memory. Wasn't barely a year ago that Apple had a free battery recall affecting Powerbook G4s. Then there was the whole battery swelling thing on the MacBooks. STEVE JOBS REALITY DISTORTION IN EFFECT, SON!
@Flashpoint - THIS IS HOW MY BED LOOKS AFTER A NIGHT WITH A SUPER HOT WET BURRITO.
On a serious note, IBM has some of the most stringent testing standards of any manufacturer, hands down. NASA uses them on their space missions and I wouldn't buy any other brand. This guy's probably just broke his laptop and is trying to get a free replacement.
chiggy check it:
http://jpowell.blogs.com/jason_powell_church_it/2007/02/can_your_laptop.html
Thinkpads > Macbook *
Sinai, he's an idiot who probably didn't read the article, and just commented.
By the way, comment button not working well for you? You always seem to have problems with it
Oh wait I see. You weren't responding to just Miles. My bad =(
i used to have an Averatech laptop, i loved it, except for one design blunder, a lone air vent on the bottom of the laptop. i always thought this was a horrible idea, and i would sit on my bed for hours with it. it would get hot, hot enough that i couldnt touch the bottom around the air vent without burning myself. it even peeled the paint off the bottom it got so hot. However, it never got hot enough to burn anything. Looking at this picture, there are no air vents on the bottom, so how would a rug plug air vents on the side? the only way would be if the thing was wrapped in the rug. The burn spot in his pictures, isnt in a place where an air vent would be, nor is it close to the battery. And like someone else above me stated, that is a rather large burn spot on this bed, and if the laptop started the fire, it would be burned far worse all over the laptop. And, who keeps a 10L bottle of water next to their bed? thats a huge freaking bottle of water. That's what, close to 3 gallons of water?
What are you talking about? "There are no airvents on the bottom?"????? Thats where the burn hole is!!! And if you look closer there is one more air vent down further. ON the bottom!!!! Christ man.
...and yet the laptop works without the power adapter plugged!!
Bravo!
Nice catch! He only has a headphone plugged in even though his battery supposedly exploded and now the laptop only works when plugged in. Plus the phoney broken screen, plus the matches, plus the cigarettes, plus the racist conspiracy bullcrap...
What you have here is a pathetic attempt to gain attention for his crap theories. Shame on engadget for falling hook line and sinker for this.
Please remove this post, that guy's blog is disgusting. Also, I am getting the feeling that some sort of fraud is going on with this guy. In the sense nothing adds up with his photos/story.
I don't like this kind of stuff on my RSS reader and I don't believe that Engadget supports the views of the subject's blog.
Please remove it, it makes me sick.
Atleast somebody got to see some action yesterday night.
I work on These all time time (The Laptop program we have where I work had roughly 1200 R51's which are very similar to R50's) and I'm calling BS on this one.
1) The Screen. I can't say it's fake or not, but I will say I've seen that type of damage all the time. (College Students tend to treat "Free" laptop's like trash until they get a $250 bill for the screen.) It's usually caused by direct blunt force at the point of the spiderweb. Unless he threw it at a table where the edge of it caught the lower left portion of the screen, you wouldn't get that pattern unless you punched it there or threw a dart at it. (don't ask)
2) There is absolutely nothing there that would cause a fire in that burn location. Looking at the first picture on his blog, the hard drive extends from the right of the laptop (where the tape holding it in is) all the way to the first set of air holes you see. where the air holes are is the ATA connector wired directly to the board. left of the connector is the Mini-PCI slot on the board for wireless. and the chipset down from there. Even if the motherboard somehow touched the shielding (it can if you "Pepsi Syndrome" it) you would blow the fuse on the board long before it would get literally red hot. (Just for the record, I've used Bic Lighters on that shielding to heat the Windows Sickers off the cases to put on a replacement bottom cover since IBM will not replace that sticker. I've never seen one get red hot even after 5 minutes of holding it in the same spot.)
3) The Closest battery would be the CMOS one, and it's located around that screw below the burn mark in the first Blog picture. If it blew somehow, to cause this damage the keyboard would have melted first. The main battery is in the back of the computer (it's the plastic part with the two vertical nubs on it on his last blog pic)
4)If he was just using the battery. It's virtually impossible. The battery would heat up rapidly under the load and the battery heat sensor would trigger complete battery isolation and system shutdown. (it's built in the battery itself. That's why only one IBM went boom after a drop when Dell's lit up like firecrackers on the desk) On AC it's possible, but at that point either the fuse would blow or the power socket wires would melt.
5) even if the stars aligned and The Laptop was the cause, It would have never caused that much damage to the bed. And if it did, a lot more of the laptop would be melted.
"I work on These all time time (The Laptop program we have where I work had roughly 1200 R51's which are very similar to R50's) and I'm calling BS on this one."
1)"you wouldn't get that pattern unless you punched it there or threw a dart at it. (don't ask)"
There was a coffee table with sharp corners right in the direction I threw it. It was on the ground at the coffee table. So that must have been it. What a bummer. I was pretty disappointed about the screen given that the rest still worked.
2)"the hard drive extends from the right of the laptop (where the tape holding it in is)"
I lost the screw for the cover. About 5 screws have fallen out of the bottom of this laptop over time. Still missing.
"all the way to the first set of air holes you see."
Are they inlet or outlet?
"on the board for wireless."
It was wireless connected.
"I've never seen one get red hot even after 5 minutes of holding it in the same spot.)"
O.k.
3)"The Closest battery would be the CMOS one, and it's located around that screw below the burn mark in the first Blog picture."
If it blew would the computer still start up? Cause it still starts up fine.
4)"If he was just using the battery."
It was on AC.
"On AC it's possible, but at that point either the fuse would blow or the power socket wires would melt."
right? And?
5) "even if the stars aligned and The Laptop was the cause, It would have never caused that much damage to the bed."
Thats where you left your field of expertise mate. You're not a fire scientist nor a bed technition. I WAS THERE. The hole moved incredibly fast. I personalyl was stunned and went into panic mode - thats why I threw the laptop. And also, you just contradicted youself - above you say that you have hit the casing with a lighter for 5 minutes and it never melted and never got hot.
Stick to your field mate. See what happens when you venture out of it? Logic goes out the window.
Ah, detectives..
This is like a game of clue!
It was the racist, with the matches, in the bedroom!
Laptop heat hurts in other ways, too:
http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/10/24/will-geeks-become-an-endangered-species/
Wait a minute. Did this guy say he left his laptop on and ON his bed while he went to sleep on the other end?
With a rug over it. He's a complete moron! Read his other posts if you don't believe me!
Oh and read the comments while you're at it
I am just disappointed with engadget for not doing the slightest bit of research into this guys claim. Even a cursory glance at this guys blog reveals him as a holocaust denying antisemitic nut job, probably trying to get some money from lenovo.
Oh I like the guys who use non-sequitur to deny my story about what happened. Lets see: [I am a "holocaust denier", therefore the story about what happened to my Thinkpad is a lie.] lol. Thats what I call "jew rationale". Oh yeh, and therefore also I'm an "anti-semite" lol.
But I bet these same guys have no trouble with computer programming which demands strict logic. Its called Cognitive Dissonance.
lenro? Mate whats with the non-sequitur? "The guy is a holocaust denier therefore his laptop story is a lie"?????
Yeh, I get it. I suppose you agree that Holocaust deniers are criminals and should stay in prison where they belong? You're allowed to question anything in the west but not just one thing: If you publish a book questioning anything about the holocaust, taking away from any of the ""historical misery" of the Holocaust story, then in many western countries you will be censored and/or thrown in prison. Now why would a story that is true get you in prison for questioning it? I'm allowed to question Jesus. I'm allowed to be an atheist. In many muslim countries you're not allowed to question Mohammed. In many western countries you're not allowed to question the Jew.
I don't know why the person who posted this story here implied that the battery exploded. You can see from the photo that the heat has come from the airvent somehow. The laptop was fine like that for 4 weeks and I didn't even have it on sleep mode.
Yeh I'm lucky. And yeh it would have been ironic for a holocaust denying cyber-activist to be gassed to death by his own tool of active denial. Sorry for you Shindler's List fans.
And to the guy that said "I'll get my grandmother to beat you to death" - Tell me, how did you grandmother escape the gas chambers? And did she see them did she? Something I have noticed about the modern day self-proclaimed jew is that their entire identity, the core of how they see themselves in the world and who they are is entirely and irreproachably defined by the Holocaust story. it is impertive to their own sense of moral justification in everything that they do that they remain a member of a group who claims to be the biggest victims of the 20th century - and the saddest irony of that is that the so called "jews" commited the greatest evil in the 20th century mankind has ever witnessed.
"What you have here is a pathetic attempt to gain attention for his crap theories. Shame on engadget for falling hook line and sinker for this."
Does Engadget test computers? Do they have a forensic lab or outsource they trust? I will send the laptop to them. All I will keep is my HD.
That will shut all you morons up who suffer extreme illogical metacognitive incompetence.
lol. Hey everyone, you know why Macbook Air is the ad on top of this story? Because Macbook Air doesn't have a user replaceable battery!
And so you know why the blogger here at engadget falsely titled the story to imply my laptop's battery exploded? yep, you got it.
I work on These all time time (The Laptop program we have where I work had roughly 1200 R51's which are very similar to R50's) and I'm calling BS on this one.
1)There was a coffee table with sharp corners right in the direction I threw it. It was on the ground at the coffee table. So that must have been it. What a bummer. I was pretty disappointed about the screen given that it still worked.
2)"the hard drive extends from the right of the laptop (where the tape holding it in is)"
I lost the screw for the cover. About 5 screws have fallen out of the bottom of this laptop over time. Still missing.
"all the way to the first set of air holes you see."
Are they inlet or outlet?
"on the board for wireless."
It was wireless connected.
"I've never seen one get red hot even after 5 minutes of holding it in the same spot.)"
O.k.
3)"The Closest battery would be the CMOS one, and it's located around that screw below the burn mark in the first Blog picture."
If it blew would the computer still start up? Cause it still starts up fine.
4)"If he was just using the battery."
It was on AC.
"On AC it's possible, but at that point either the fuse would blow or the power socket wires would melt."
But they are at the back near the battery.
5) "even if the stars aligned and The Laptop was the cause, It would have never caused that much damage to the bed."
Thats where you left your field of expertise mate. You're not a fire scientist nor a bed technition. I WAS THERE. The hole moved incredibly fast. I personalyl was stunned and went into panic mode - thats why I threw the laptop. And also, you just contradicted youself - above you say that you have hit the casing with a lighter for 5 minutes and it never melted and never got hot.
Stick to your field mate. See what happens when you venture out of it? Logic goes out the window.
This was meant to be a reply to DeathLizard. See the other comment - I reposted.
For the record: I would buy another Thinkpad, especially an old model
1.Because they don't heat up and when their vents are free of dust
build up they are cool enough to sit on your lap (you need to get
them service to get the naval fluff out)
(2)Because they have the toughest cases and really can be chucked
around
(3)Because were made for executive fleets for large corporations and
this means they most likely don't have backdoor spyfirmware in them
(because big
corporations would check) -
(4)because they don't have onboard mics and
cameras which can be used to spy on you by the fascist NSA and their
(5)Because they are dead quiet which means I have room to hear if Blackwater goons have located me, slipped past my security, and are trying to pick my lock.
Hey, you forgot the best thing about ThinkPads: they don't get built by jews..
I bet he was trying to run Crysis when that happened
这个事情能怪IBM吗？他为什么不到水下去用呢？又好像买了车，不好好开，非要去撞火车，给撞死了，能抱怨汽车厂家安全性不好吗？