iBook ENGULFED IN FLAMES!!! literally!

[Thidranki]

Yeah totally my bad!! I just fixed it if you look back up

I believed you about them saying the 300,000 incidents a year. I was talking about the news missing all those incidents. I find faults with them, not you

 

[poppe]

To advocate the devil's advocate, which is easier? Dragging a [heavy] power adapter (which is probably very hot) or just yanking it out? It would probably fall out anyways in transport.

Also, does the computer run off the battery as much when its plugged in? I dont know about that.

Well to me my first thought would be to pull out of the socket of the wall. I've had other things begin to start on fire and I didn't think hey go by the thing that is on fire and unplug cords from there. I thouhgt "hey there unplug it from its power source."

 

[poppe]

It does look staged though for sure.

Your iBook is on fire? hey let me run in and get my Nikon and wait don't start the fire yet I need to find some filters hold on.... Hold on... ah here we go. Crap the battery is dead. Let me charge it up quick and then we can take pictures of your burning laptop. We'll teach Apple oh yes

 

[mpw]

...Also, does the computer run off the battery as much when its plugged in? I dont know about that.

I would guess that these fires happen due to a fault charging the battery so it would need to be plugged in to catch fire.

 

[Thidranki]

This also brings up the question: how long would a computer fire last? I wouldn't think it would be flaming very largely for a good amount of time. Here is the guys agenda:

• Think about taking pictures of it instead of putting it out and endangering his house/family/life
  
• Pick up the laptop, all the while avoiding burns from the almost unmanagable huge flames. (How do you carry something w/ flames that big without being scared or being burned.)
  
• Aparrently wasting time by having to drag the probably hot power adapter outside, maybe plugging it in? Also juggling both the power adapter and the computer. Its a short cord, and it would be too risky to handle the enflamed laptop with one hand.
  
• Run inside, find your camera, and bring it back out.
  
• Take a lot of pictures from different angles.
  
• Hope the fire started on his carpet is put out.

This isn't considering help from the wife, but seriously, she wont save that much time while in a state of panic, and obviously not in the "lets get on the news" mode. She could help w/ the power adapter i guess, but why wouldn't they just yank it in the first place? She could probably have also put out the carpet fire.

Just speculation, but it seems more and more fishy by the minute.

 

[Thidranki]

I would guess that these fires happen due to a fault charging the battery so it would need to be plugged in to catch fire.

Good point.

 

[Thidranki]

Well, after watching the video, the compute was not plugged in, the adapter was just lying there. They also show where in the room the computer was, and there was no outlet possibly in reach...

Also, doesn't it say soemwhere that these computers are not laptops, but mobile computers and should not be left on dangerous surfaces? Oh well, I guess I'm trying to hard to find something wrong with this story. My inner Apple fan-boyishness was ignited

 

[drewyboy]

PAHAHAHA!!!!! LMAO!! Next thing you know, i'm gona be sending in a report that my lawn gnowm torched my house. This is a total BS story. The evidence is all right there. If you noticed, they said the fire lasted 5 minutes, even if that is all true, did u notice the picture taken? The first picture has daylight, yet the last one when it is burning in flames, is at night, very dark out. Also, i didn't see any damage to their carpet. What are the chances that they got the carpet replaced within a week? I know my parents would be like... well, we can live with it until we get the whole carpet replace a couple years down the road. I'm seriouslly call'n bs on this story. Those news ppl are really gulible (spelling?) and looking for something to put up.

Here is the video & pictures I'm talking about.

 

[savar]

This is a ridiculously scary thought. A laptop starting on fire. Now I know there are some people laughing out there that that is what they get for leaving their scorching hot laptop on a goosedown blanket on the bed or as in the case with the kid in the iBook he left his on his carpet, but that is crazy.

This is totally crazy. Catching the carpet on fire from a hot laptop? I could put a chunk of carpet in the oven at 400 degrees and it wouldn't spontaneously catch fire.

The news story is leaving out some important details.

 

[freeny]

Yes, yes and yes!

My friends apartment burned down from her apple ti-book bursting into flames in the middle of the night.

 

[Thidranki]

Yes, yes and yes!

My friends apartment burned down from her apple ti-book bursting into flames in the middle of the night.

I think your friend just wanted some insurance $$$$

 

[mrichmon]

Here in dallas I was watching Channel 11 news. They began a teaser with a white laptop in flames. Surely it can not be our beloved Apple!?!

Infact it was an iBook... What model or version it was was not released. Many other laptops were shown from Dell and IBM but since the stories source was from a 12 year old whose Apple was engulfed with flames after he wandered from it.

Very old news. Apple had a series of defective batteries and issued a voluntary recall program for these batteries.

If the "reporters" had done minimal amounts of checking such as searching google using the search term "ibook battery fire" they would have turned up the following link as the second result from the google search:

Apple Recall of iBook and PowerBook Computer Batteries

Even going to the Apple homepage and scrolling to the bottom of the page shows a link: Important Safety Recall of rechargable batteries for 12-inch iBook G4, 12-inch and 15-inch PowerBook G4.

Sadly expecting a TV news reporter to check their facts rather than go for purely sensationalist reporting is unrealistic nowdays.

 

[mpw]

PAHAHAHA!!!!! LMAO!! Next thing you know, i'm gona be sending in a report that my lawn gnowm torched my house. This is a total BS story. The evidence is all right there. If you noticed, they said the fire lasted 5 minutes, even if that is all true, did u notice the picture taken? The first picture has daylight, yet the last one when it is burning in flames, is at night, very dark out. Also, i didn't see any damage to their carpet. What are the chances that they got the carpet replaced within a week? I know my parents would be like... well, we can live with it until we get the whole carpet replace a couple years down the road. I'm seriouslly call'n bs on this story. Those news ppl are really gulible (spelling?) and looking for something to put up.

Here is the video & pictures I'm talking about.

Your doing as little and as poor research as the reporters. The exposure on the two photos could simply be down to whether the auto flash kicked in or not, the carpet damage might not have been terrible if the fire was on top of the iBook as it would appear, and why shouldn't they fit a new carpet in a week?

 

[poppe]

PAHAHAHA!!!!! LMAO!! Next thing you know, i'm gona be sending in a report that my lawn gnowm torched my house. This is a total BS story. The evidence is all right there. If you noticed, they said the fire lasted 5 minutes, even if that is all true, did u notice the picture taken? The first picture has daylight, yet the last one when it is burning in flames, is at night, very dark out. Also, i didn't see any damage to their carpet. What are the chances that they got the carpet replaced within a week? I know my parents would be like... well, we can live with it until we get the whole carpet replace a couple years down the road. I'm seriouslly call'n bs on this story. Those news ppl are really gulible (spelling?) and looking for something to put up.

Here is the video & pictures I'm talking about.

If you watched the video they said they smelt smoke came to the living room and saw the carpet being melted. Not everyone is like your parents wanting to live with melted carpet. News people dont know crap though I agree with you on that but there is not much evidence that you say is there.

 

[devilot]

Very old news. Apple had a series of defective batteries and issued a voluntary recall program for these batteries.

Sadly expecting a TV news reporter to check their facts rather than go for purely sensationalist reporting is unrealistic nowdays.

If you maybe checked out the news link, you'd realize that they mentioned Apple and other companies had already recalled thousands of batteries.

They then went on to say that the boy's laptop battery (that allegedly went into flames) was NOT one of the recalled batteries. Therefore, they're pointing out a potential issue that hasn't even been acknowledged yet.

 

[bbrosemer]

It was a 12 yr. old with a laptop I think that had alot more to do with it then people realize.

 

[devilot]

It was a 12 yr. old with a laptop I think that had alot more to do with it then people realize.

Could you elaborate a little more? I'm not sure how his being 12 years old would or could cause a laptop battery to malfunction.

 

[freeny]

I think your friend just wanted some insurance $$$$

Dont go there...

I can 100% testify to this.
Apple recieved dozens of cases about this and recalled those batteries. IT REALLY DID HAPPEN!

To imply burning down your home and all your keepsakes and belongings as well as killing your cat as a way to "Cash in" has to be the most disturbing thing Ive ever heard!
Shame on you!

 

[drewyboy]

Your doing as little and as poor research as the reporters. The exposure on the two photos could simply be down to whether the auto flash kicked in or not, the carpet damage might not have been terrible if the fire was on top of the iBook as it would appear, and why shouldn't they fit a new carpet in a week?

I do ametuer photography, and just to let you know, a flash cannot cause those 3 different types of lighting that are portrayed in those 3 pictures. Also the lighting in the lightest, and second lightest are too natural to be from camera. Possibly if the person taking the picture was a pro with surrounding flash lighting, possibly then, but no way are they different lighting just due to a flash. I'm still calling set up.

Edit: Just to add to what has been said, I totally agree with all of you who say that commen sense would be to put the fire out, not to haul it out to your front yard, or drive way... or outside, but to put it out ASAP using a fire extinguisher (spelling?) or by putting in the sink/tub and turning the water on, or using a blanket to smother it. Pulling it outside, with powercord still attached, and taking picture... it's way to "perfect" and i smell set up written all over it. Also knowing that the family has ties to the news, they knew they probably would get attention. Especially idolizing the child as a complete innocent victom of irresponsible big computer companies. Dont get me wrong, I'm sure it happens once in awhile, but this case in particular, it's way too bs.

 

[Thidranki]

Dont go there...

I can 100% testify to this.
Apple recieved dozens of cases about this and recalled those batteries. IT REALLY DID HAPPEN!

To imply burning down your home and all your keepsakes and belongings as well as killing your cat as a way to "Cash in" has to be the most disturbing thing Ive ever heard!
Shame on you!

lol, sarcasm FTW

 

[Smallville]

Oh yeah the news is about as reliable as the inquirer (spelling?) anymore. I've never even heard of a laptop melting or burning.

What happened when your powerbook was melted? did it get replaced?

Oh, you have no idea. I'm a sports writer for the newspaper, and the TV sports guy has tapped kids on the shoulders during a game and asked them to dunk their next possession just to get a good highlight, no matter what the coach says to run.

Of course, all the coaches hate the guy. The media should not be influencing stories or story sources this way.

The news side stages shots for stories, too. While no news operation is perfect, be wary of local TV.

Remember the bomb episode of Grey's Anatomy? The local news had a scare-feature on "could it happen here???"

Lots of stuff staged for ratings.

 

[eRondeau]

Hot Mouse???

For 2-1/2 years my 1GHz iBook G4 has been completely problem-free, but this reminds me of an interesting experience I had with my first Bluetooth mouse. When I bought my iBook, I got the BT Keyboard & Mouse at the same time. I had the dealer install the batteries in both. The mouse required two Lithium AA's; the keyboard four Alkaline's. Anyways when I got home and started setting-up my new purchase, I very nearly burned my hand on the mouse -- right out of the box! Not sure what the problem was, but it was literally unbelievably hot. Much too hot to hold -- nearly too hot to touch. Even the little cardboard box it came in was hot. I popped the boiling lithium batteries out and returned the mouse the next day. I shudder to think what could have happened if I left the mouse in the box for another hour, or overnight.

 

[Nepenthe]

I do ametuer photography, and just to let you know, a flash cannot cause those 3 different types of lighting that are portrayed in those 3 pictures. Also the lighting in the lightest, and second lightest are too natural to be from camera. Possibly if the person taking the picture was a pro with surrounding flash lighting, possibly then, but no way are they different lighting just due to a flash. I'm still calling set up.

Jeez this sounds just like the 9/11 Pentagon crash consipracy theories.

Consumer digicams (which I assume is where those pictures came from) go like dis:
Point a camera at a bright thingy, camera makes the thingy less bright. Background gets dark. Yes it is a pushy blanket statement, but I mean come *on*.

Go figure that an auto camera would have adjusted the exposures between an image of 4-inch high flames vs. an image of 2 foot high flames.

 

[poppe]

Jeez this sounds just like the 9/11 Pentagon crash consipracy theories.

Consumer digicams (which I assume is where those pictures came from) go like dis:
Point a camera at a bright thingy, camera makes the thingy less bright. Background gets dark. Yes it is a pushy blanket statement, but I mean come *on*.

Go figure that an auto camera would have adjusted the exposures between an image of 4-inch high flames vs. an image of 2 foot high flames.

Hey now He's an ametuer photographer. Go Easy on him

 

[poppe]

If you maybe checked out the news link, you'd realize that they mentioned Apple and other companies had already recalled thousands of batteries.

They then went on to say that the boy's laptop battery (that allegedly went into flames) was NOT one of the recalled batteries. Therefore, they're pointing out a potential issue that hasn't even been acknowledged yet.

Exactly. I figure alot of the people responding are not acctually checking out the link with the story, the pictures or the videos... Oh well what can you do.
I can't blame them either I dont want Apple to have bad press.