Speaking of laptop problems, Dell is recalling 4.1 million laptop batteries because

“In rare cases, a short-circuit could cause the battery to overheat, causing a risk of smoke and/or fire,” said the spokesman, Ira Williams. “It happens in rare cases, but we opted to take this broad action immediately.

If you purchased a Dell Latitude, Inspiron, XTS and precision mobile workstation notebooks between April 1, 2004, and July 18, 2006, you’ll be able to get a free replacement battery. They plan to launch a website, dellbatteryprogram.com, tomorrow (1AM CDT Tuesday) with the details.

I’ve noticed my Inspiron running hot whenever I placed it on anything that wasn’t wood. In fact, I’ve been compensating by running it atop a bamboo tray whenver I’m not at my desk, which keeps it pretty cool. I’m glad they’re doing something about this.