XXXXXXX 2006 MA XIMUMPC 00
■ Dell is recalling some 22,000 notebook
computer batteries sold with the Latitude
D410, D505, D510, D600, D610, D800, D810,
Inspiron 510M, 600M, 6000, 8600, 9200, 9300,
XPS Gen 2, and Precision M20, M70.
The batteries could overheat and
pose a fire risk. Dell said it has received
three reports of the batteries overheating
and damaging a tabletop, a desktop, and
“minor” personal effects. No injuries were
reported. The batteries were manufactured
in Japan and China and sold between Oct. 2,
2004 and Oct. 13, 2005 in the United States.
To check your notebook battery, remove
the cell and look for the part number. If the
part number contains the series: 3K590, C5340, X5308, F5132, U5882, U5867, P922, C5446, or
C2603, the battery might be defective. If the number is not on your battery, the battery is fine.
If the series is there, consumers are asked to visit http://www.dellbatteryprogram.com and to enter
the full part number to see if it’s included in the recall. If you cannot access a computer, you
can call Dell at 866-342-0011 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or write to
Dell Inc., Attn: Battery Program, 9701 Metric Blvd., Suite 200 Austin, Texas 78758.■ Nikon has extended the recall of batteries for some of its digital SLR cameras. In
November, Nikon recalled around 710,000 EN-EL3 batteries sold worldwide that might over-
heat and melt. The batteries were sold with
and for the D50, D70, and D100 digital cam-
eras. The list of affected batteries is too
long to list in detail, but if the first three dig-
its of your battery’s lot number (printed on
the back of the battery) are: 44A, 46A, 47A,
48A, 49A, 4AA, 4BA, 4CA, 51A, 53A or 54A,
you should visit http://www.nikonusa.com and
click the recall notice for full details. If the
battery is bad, the company recommends
that you immediately stop using it and con-
tact the company for a free replacement,
which will arrive in 7 to 10 days.Recall Alert
Dell is recalling about 22,000 notebook
computer batteries that might overheat.watch dodogg MAXIMUM PC TAKES A BITE OUT OF BAD GEAR
The Dog pinged Pure Networks, the maker of
0ort -agic to find out what the program does
and what Will’s problem might be. According to
the company, the product manages ports. If, for
example, you want to host a game on your PC,
0ort -agic would program the ports on your
router so the game would accept packets for a
game server. When the game server is turned
off, 0ort -agic would close the port on the
router, instead of the user having to do it manu-
ally. (A computer can be left open to attacks if
a user forgets to close the port on the router.)
0ort -agic can also automate remote access
to a machine and deal with the port-forward-
ing that’s needed for programs such as 0#!nYWhere. Technicians at Pure Networks said a
couple of problems could have occurred in Will’s
setup. They recommend setting the program
so that ports are “sticky” and stay open. Techs
also said it’s possible there’s a conflict with
Winsock LSPs. A LSP, or layered service provider,
is installed with most networking and antivirus
programs, and according to Pure Networks:
“Sometimes interactions between these LSPs
can cause a machine to behave strangely with
respect to networking.”
The Dog’s solution? Drop AOL and 0ort
-agic. Pure Networks no longer actually sup-
ports or updates 0ort -agic as a product as of
late last year. And AOL is, well, AOL.Nikon has added an additional three
batches of batteries to its recall.