Sometimes, technology troubles can work in your favor.
I’ve had a Dell Latitude laptop (bought for me by the company) for over two years now. Just in the last few days the battery has worn down enough to become annoying: I can only get about an hour of charge on it, not quite enough to cover the train commute when I get most of my writing done. Today I went to the Dell website to see how much a new battery was going to set me back (knowing that the boss would bitch about it if it was too much, and might reasonably ask how much of this battery use was actually benefitting the company). Right on the front page was a notice about the infamous recall of Sony-manufactured laptop batteries, which has affected Dell and many other companies. I’d noticed plenty of headlines about this, but had not stopped to consider whether it might affect me.
A few pages of instructions later, I found out that it did – so I’m entitled to a free replacement, which Dell has promised to mail to me “within 20 business days.”
Absolutely cool. I’m getting a brand-new battery just when I need one, and don’t even have to pay for it. Of course, I am in the meantime ignoring Dell’s instructions to use the laptop only on AC power – and it would be just like the Great God Murphy to ensure that the old battery catches fire and torches the computer while I’m waiting for the replacement…
