Sony news: Sony recalls 69,000 AC adapters because of shock hazard

Sony said it has received four reports of adapters short-circuiting, with none of those incidents occurring in the U.S. No injuries have been reported, Sony said. The recall only relates to adapters with certain serial numbers; you can enter your number on Sony's site to see if your product is impacted.
The company said consumers with affected devices should turn off their computers, unplug them, and stop using the recalled AC adapters immediately. They should also contact Sony to arrange for a free replacement of the affected product.
Sony is recalling 69,000 Vaio AC adapters, the company announced Wednesday. Insulation inside some VGP-AC19V17 adapters can fail over time, Sony said, posing an electrical shock hazard.
The Sony VGP-AC19V17 AC adapter shows up in computers from the company's VGC-LT, VGC-JS240, VGC-JS250, VGC-JS270, and VGC-JS290 series sold after September 2007. The adapter also appears in VGP-PRBX1 and VGP-PRFE1 notebook docking stations sold after September 2005.

Check Whether or Not Your AC Power Adapter is Affected
The voluntary recall only applies to VGP-AC19V17 AC Adapters with certain serial numbers. Select your AC Adapter part number from the drop-down boxes, type your serial number, and then click the Check AC Adapter button.
This validation form is only for customers residing in the United States.
Sony customers residing in other countries please click the appropriate link below:
Canada
Brazil
Latin America
All other countries: Please go to Sony Global Home and then choose your country.

This is what they said on their website:

Dear Sony Valued Customer,

Sony has initiated a voluntary recall for certain AC power adapters which may short circuit and pose a potential electrical shock hazard.

This only applies to AC power adapters model VGP-AC19V17 that were supplied with the following VAIO® all-in-one computers and docking stations:

All-in-one computers sold after September, 2007
VGC-LT series
VGC-JS240, VGC-JS250, VGC-JS270, and VGC-JS290 series
Notebook docking stations sold after September, 2005
VGP-PRBX1
VGP-PRFE1
See more laptop accessories information here: Gateway ADP-65HB AC Adapter(ADP-65HB)
Gateway SADP-65KB B Adapter 65W(Output: DC19V 3.42A
Power: 65W)
Toshiba PA-1650-01 AC Adapter(Input Voltage: 100-240V - 50/60HZ (Worldwide Compatible) Output: DC19V 3.42A Power: 65W )
Delta PA-1650-02 AC Adapter 60W(Input: AC100-240V (worldwide use)
Output: DC19V 3.16A )
Gateway PA-1700-02 AC adapter 65W(Output: DC19V 3.42A
Power: 65W )
Dell pa-16 AC Adapter(Input: AC100-240V (worldwide use)
Output: DC19V 3.16A)
Dell NADP-90KB AC Adapter(Input: AC100-240V (worldwide use) Output: DC19.5V 4.62A Power: 90W)

Help to Extend Windows 7 Notebook Battery Life

We recently featured an easy to use battery monitoring application called BattCursor for Windows Vista. BattCursor keeps the user well aware of the status of your battery, while also showcasing battery saving features such as automatically dimming the computer display or turning off Aero. BattCursor is also compatible with the new Windows 7, and will be helpful in improving upon the battery saving benefits already allowed by newest version of Windows.
One of the main benefits of the recently released Windows 7 is the reported 10%-20% improvement in battery life brought about by the new program from Microsoft. Still though, even with this reduction in power consumption brought about by Windows 7, any other methods of extending the life of your notebook’s battery are always welcome.
Another way to boost the battery life of notebooks featuring both Windows 7 and Windows Vista is the use of a small tray utility called Aerofoil. Aerofoil will automatically disable the Windows Aero Glass interface and optionally switch Windows Power Plans, Windows Sidebar and sound off when your notebook is running on it’s battery.

Aerofoil extends Windows 7 notebook battery life by:
-Allowing you to manually disable Aero Glass.
-Optionally managing Aero Glass user interface.
-Optionally managing sound muting.
-Optionally managing YOUR chosen power plans.
-Optionally managing Windows Sidebar.
-Optionally showing a quick hibernate button.
-Changing icon color to show your power type.

You can also visit feevoo.com, for more Laptop accessories information, for such as: laptop accessories(laptop accessories )
Gateway ADP-65HB AC Adapter(Input Voltage: 100-240V - 50/60HZ (Worldwide Compatible) Output: DC19V 3.42A Power: 65W )
Gateway SADP-65KB B Adapter 65W(Output: DC19V 3.42A
Power: 65W)
Toshiba PA-1650-01 AC Adapter(Input Voltage: 100-240V - 50/60HZ (Worldwide Compatible) Output: DC19V 3.42A Power: 65W )
Delta PA-1650-02 AC Adapter 60W(Input: AC100-240V (worldwide use)
Output: DC19V 3.16A )
Gateway PA-1700-02 AC adapter 65W(Output: DC19V 3.42A
Power: 65W )
Dell pa-16 AC Adapter(Input: AC100-240V (worldwide use)
Output: DC19V 3.16A)
Dell NADP-90KB AC Adapter(Input: AC100-240V (worldwide use) Output: DC19.5V 4.62A Power: 90W)

Gateway's New Notebooks, 8-hour Batteries

In a statement, Acer (who owns Gateway) Senior Manager of Product Marketing, Ray Sawall, said, “The new Gateway EC Series product lines were designed for the many PC users that have embraced the fun and productivity of being able to compute and stay in touch while away from their home or office.” We’ll have to wait and see if consumers agree, but at least this is yet another interesting product offering coinciding with the Windows 7 launch.
Gateway has announced a new thin-and-light notebook lineup for the release of Windows 7 on the 22nd. The series is comprised of the EC58, EC54, and EC14. All will run Windows Home Premium, and will have multitouch trackpads. Gateway is also claiming that all the notebooks are capable of 8 hours of battery life.
The EC58 and EC54 are 15.6 inch laptops with high definition, LED-backlit screens. They run Pentium Dual Core SU4100 series CPUs, offering very low power consumption. They are, however, running an Intel integrated graphics solution. The units will have 4GB of DDR3 RAM loaded as well. The EC14 has a smaller 11.6 inch HD display, LED-backlit, and weighs in at a bit over 3 pounds. Otherwise, the specs are very similar. The EC58/54 will start at $649.99 and the EC14 will go for $549.99.
For the Windows faithful, it’s been a tough eight years. With the launch of Windows XP in 2001, we thought we were poised on a brink of a new world of NT-based goodness—but two years and uncountable exploits later, the future of Windows was grim. Facing a never-ending torrent of new ‘sploits, worms, and trojans, Microsoft fired back with the single greatest operating system update of all time—Service Pack 2.
Of course, we all know how Vista turned out. Haunted by poor performance in everything from games to disk access to networking, Vista is widely considered to be Microsoft’s biggest failure. Nonetheless, Vista laid the groundwork for a host of new technologies, all absolutely vital to pushing Windows into the 21st century.
See more information for laptop accessories(laptop accessories )
Gateway ADP-65HB AC Adapter(Input Voltage: 100-240V - 50/60HZ (Worldwide Compatible) Output: DC19V 3.42A Power: 65W )
Gateway SADP-65KB B Adapter 65W(Output: DC19V 3.42A
Power: 65W)
Toshiba PA-1650-01 AC Adapter(Input Voltage: 100-240V - 50/60HZ (Worldwide Compatible) Output: DC19V 3.42A Power: 65W )
Delta PA-1650-02 AC Adapter 60W(Input: AC100-240V (worldwide use)
Output: DC19V 3.16A )
Gateway PA-1700-02 AC adapter 65W(Output: DC19V 3.42A
Power: 65W )
Dell pa-16 AC Adapter(Input: AC100-240V (worldwide use)
Output: DC19V 3.16A)
Dell NADP-90KB AC Adapter(Input: AC100-240V (worldwide use) Output: DC19.5V 4.62A Power: 90W

Asus Eee PC 1201N Could Pave the Way for Other Netbooks

There will also be a less powerful version, the 1201HA, with a standard Atom chipset and Intel graphics in the same 12 inch chassis. No pricing information is available right now. Release date is also a mystery. The fact that they both run Windows 7 indicates they won’t be available until after Windows 7 is released on October 22.
So you want a Netbook, but you’re not crazy about dealing with a slow computer? You’re in luck. The recently leaked specs for the upcoming ASUS Eee PC 1201N should make any geek’s wallet feel a little too heavy. The 1201N is said to be packing a 1.6 GHz Atom N330 Dual Core CPU paired with 3GB of RAM. The standard configuration will have a 320GB hard drive as well.
The thing that really sets it apart is the video. The 1201N will be rocking the Nvidia ION chipset (Geforce 9400M), which will be pumping video to a 12 inch display with a resolution of 1366x768. You can also expect an HDMI out with the ION chipset.
Asus’s Eee PC kicked off the netbook craze in 2007, and now the grandmaster of small-and-shiny returns with its best Eee ever. The 1000HE combines the 901’s extra-long battery life with the power and capacity of the 1002HA (which we reviewed in March), and throws in a nearly MacBook Pro–style full-size chiclet keyboard.
The 1000HE is the first netbook we’ve reviewed with Intel’s new Atom N280 processor, which kicks up the clocks from 1.6GHz to 1.66GHz, and the front-side bus to 667MHz from 533MHz. Other than that, it’s virtually the same hardware as Asus’s other 10-inch models, like the 1002HA. The 1000HE trades the 1002HA’s brushed-aluminum exterior for glossy fingerprint-prone plastic, with the chiclet keyboard supplanting the 1000HA’s more standard keylaptop accessories(laptop accessories )
Gateway ADP-65HB AC Adapter(Input Voltage: 100-240V - 50/60HZ (Worldwide Compatible) Output: DC19V 3.42A Power: 65W )
Gateway SADP-65KB B Adapter 65W(Output: DC19V 3.42A
Power: 65W)
Toshiba PA-1650-01 AC Adapter(Input Voltage: 100-240V - 50/60HZ (Worldwide Compatible) Output: DC19V 3.42A Power: 65W )
Delta PA-1650-02 AC Adapter 60W(Input: AC100-240V (worldwide use)
Output: DC19V 3.16A )
Gateway PA-1700-02 AC adapter 65W(Output: DC19V 3.42A
Power: 65W )
Dell pa-16 AC Adapter(Input: AC100-240V (worldwide use)
Output: DC19V 3.16A)
Dell NADP-90KB AC Adapter(Input: AC100-240V (worldwide use) Output: DC19.5V 4.62A Power: 90W)