xVx >321 Studios >IBM >Belkin
only. Still, there are other issues surrounding
321 Studios’ products. The company’s products
have always needed to be activated by phone
or the Internet when first installed. As things
stand, phone support is no longer offered, and
Internet activation is certain to vaporize alongwith the company’s Internet presence in 2005.
When you factor in the lack of support for
upcoming drives as well as newer disc formats
like dual-layer, it seems wise for consumers to
stay away from the products even if they’re in
the clearance bin. Woof. nGot a bone to pick with a vendor? Been spiked by a fly-by-night operation? Sic The Dog on them by
writing [email protected]. The Dog promises to get to as many letters as possible, but only
has four paws to work with.IBM is voluntarily recalling some 553,000 AC
power adapters sold with Thinkpad notebooks
between January 1999 and August 2000. The
adapters can overheat, cause damage to the
circuit board, and melt the plastic housing.
Six people have reported problems with the
adapters, some claiming minor property dam-
age. The 56 watt adapters were mostly shipped
with Thinkpad I Series, 390, 240, and S series
notebooks. The bad adapters use hollow pins
where the AC plug connects to the unit and are
labeled with the part number 02K6549. Power
supplies with solid pins or a part number other
than 02K6549 are not affected. If you have a
defective power supply, IBM says it should
not be used or left plugged in without a person
nearby. The company said it will replace the
power supply free of charge. To request a
replacement, call IBM at 800.410.5629 or visit
http://www.adapterprogram.com. Last year at this
time, IBM also expanded its recall of bad mon-
itors from 56,000 to 119,000 G51 CRT monitors
sold in the United States. For more information
on that recall visit http://www.pc.ibm.com/g51recall.Apple is recalling about 28,000 batteries
for its 15-inch G4 PowerBook computers. An
internal short can occur and cause the battery
to overheat and potentially start a fire. Apple
has received four reports of the batteries
overheating but no injuries. The batteries were
sold between January 2004 and August 2004 in
notebooks costing between $2,000 and $2,600,
and individually for $130. The batteries contain
cells made during the last week of December
2003 and have the model number A1045 and a
serial numbers that begins with HQ404, HQ405,
HQ406, HQ407, or HQ408. Apple is asking con-
sumers to immediately stop using the batteries
and to contact 800.275.2273 or visit http://www.apple.
com/support/powerbook/batteryexchange.Belkin is recalling 1,200 rack-mount unin-
terruptible power supplies that pose a shock
hazard. The units were wired incorrectly,
creating a reverse polarity. Affected units
are the OmniGuard 1100 model F6C110-RKM-
2U, OmniGuard 1500 model F6C150-RKM-2U,
OmniGuard 2300 model F6C230-RKM-2U,
and OmniGuard 3200 model F6C320-TKM-3U.
The units were sold between Sept. 2003 and
June 2004 for $560 to $1,360. Belkin advises
consumers to immediately stop using the
units and contact Belkin for a free replace-
ment at 800.223.5546 ext. 2064 or visit
http://www.belkin.com.➤➤RECALL ALERT
Belkin’s rack-mounted UPS is
incorrectly wired.Apple G4 batteries can short, causing
fires.IBM’s ThinkPad power adapters: way
too hot.