Several weeks ago a family experienced hell when their 11-year old kid's iBook burst into flames. It's not really the laptop but the battery packs that are to blame. As many as 43 laptop fires in the the US were reported in 2001 based on U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission records. No fatalities yet, however, there were severe injuries.

"A burning laptop is a burning laptop, and it can pretty much happen anywhere," said Carmi Levy, an Info-Tech research group analyst. And it did. This month in Osaka, Japan, a Dell laptop set on a table exploded in the middle of a boardroom meeting.

What's causing the battery packs to turn into fireballs? As laptops become faster and acquire more features, their batteries have to work harder. As the machines become slimmer, there's less room for ventilation. This combination increases the risk of a battery meltdown and a fire. "On an airplane, I would be very concerned about this kind of thing happening," Levy said.

Most laptop lithium ion batteries produce electricity through a chemical reaction that releases oxygen. When the oxygen reacts with one of the battery's components, it produces heat hot enough to melt the battery's membrane. That's when things turn ugly. Laptop companies have recalled more than 150,000 batteries since New Year's Day, 2005. Hewlett-Packard recalled 15,700 of them in April alone. Dell recalled 22,000 batteries in December and Apple recalled about 120,000 batteries in 2005.

Dell is looking into the matter but believes the Osaka incident was an isolated case. But George Bulat, director of hardware research at the research group IDC Canada, suggested that laptop vendors educate customers about the potential dangers.
"If you're going to be on a long-distance flight, be cognizant of the heat," he said. "If it's heating up, don't just put a pillow under it."

A survey conducted by TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence shows a big jump in consumer interest in Macintosh computers, particularly the desktop models. According to the survey, Apple tied with Hewlett-Packard for the No. 2 brand overall among likely PC buyers in the next six months. Although Dell has started to lose ground, it maintained its No. 1 position with 41% down from 48% in May and 55% in April.

Among those saying it's likely they'll buy a new desktop PC in the next six months, 16% said Apple was the No. 2 preferred brand - the highest number for the company since TechnoMetrica started the survey more than two years ago. Apple's rising popularity has been attributed partly  to the so-called Halo Effect from its iPod music players. "The Apple brand -- thanks to the iPod -- has gotten far more exposure among average consumers, who are thus more likely to consider other Apple products," said the market research agency. Positive word of mouth has also boosted Apple's Macs as well.