HP batteries a fire hazard

Hewlett-Packard has recalled around 135 000 HP and Compaq laptop battery packs after reports claimed they were prone to overheating and catching fire says The Register.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced a voluntary recall by Hewlett-Packard of a range of HP Pavilion and HP/Compaq Presario and Evo laptop battery packs. The problem is occurring in the battery packs where an internal short can cause the battery cells to overheat and melt or burn the plastic casing, posing a fire hazard.

The lithium ion rechargeable batteries in question were sold around the world in national and regional computer and electronics stores and online stores between March 2004 and May 2005.

The recalled packs bear a barcode label starting with GC, IA, L0, or L1. Eighty-five thousand of the 135 000 faulty battery packs were sold in the US.

HP has so far received 16 reports of the batteries overheating, including four in the US. While no injuries have been reported yet, four cases of minor property damage were reported.

Microsoft`s patch for a worm-vulnerable security flaw in the Windows 2000 operating system is flawed itself, reports eWeek.

The software giant has confirmed several "isolated deployment issues" with the MS05-051 update, but insisted that the problems should not stop anyone from applying the critical patch.

IT administrators testing the patch are now dealing with a new round of headaches that could delay overall deployment efforts including the circulation of proof-of-concept exploits and experts predicting that a network worm attack may be on the cards.

The company is working with a "limited amount of customers" affected by the buggy patch, but stressed that all customers should still treat MS05-051 as a high-priority update according to a Microsoft spokesperson.

Palm, maker of the Treo smart phone, and rival Research In Motion (RIM), the maker of the wireless BlackBerry device, are expected to announce a licensing agreement today that could alter competition in the market for phones that offer e-mail and other functions, one of the fastest-growing segments of the cell phone industry, reports The New York Times.

As part of a broad strategy to become a software company as well as a device maker, RIM will allow Treos to use its e-mail and communications technology, called BlackBerry Connect.

Palm, a 10-year-old Silicon Valley company, will grow its opportunity to sell Treos to corporations that have spent substantial sums outfitting their workers with BlackBerrys, which are still big sellers among business users.

Treo has gained momentum in the corporate market because thousands of business software programs can run on its devices. Over the last several months, some cell phone makers, like Nokia and Sony Ericsson, have also licensed BlackBerry Connect, but they have only recently started promoting that service.