A previous thread, on alternate fuels or some such, had some comment on the hazards of Lithium Ion batteries. I can't recall enough of the other content of the thread, so a new one is needed to bring to the attention of those who may have missed it:

Dell is (again) recalling 4.1 million laptop batteries due to concerns over possible manufacturing defects that could cause overheating of the batteries and "flaming laptops." (Yes, it sounds like a new "table-dance" routine, but it's really about batteries.)

The half dozen incidents with the suspect lots of batteries resulted in no injuries, but if one has a recently purchased Dell laptop a check on whether they owe you a new battery might be in order.

While it's on the borderline of "sensationalizing" the story, the picture at the NY Times of Thomas Forqueran is just too good to pass up linking. Check out the pic, and then go to the slightly more "balanced" view of the problem at PC Magazine, What You Need to Know About Dell's Recall, 08.15.06, By Cisco Cheng and Kyle Monson

John