Laptop Batteries--Hot Stuff

Luckily, my husband's MacBook Pro (sitting five feet away from me here in the office) doesn't have one of those potentially unsafe batteries. Does yours? Here's the Business Week story:

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/tech/D8JNDQV80.htm?chan=search

Years ago, my old Dell laptop went through one battery recall, yet I've continued to buy Dell products. Now this battery issue has become an industrywide problem and could turn out to be a PR turning point in the battle for market share. How will the big dogs handle the recall(s) and the aftermath?

Far-Out Brand Extensions

An interesting story in Business Week poses the question: How far can brand extensions go? A Harley-Davidson cake decorating kit sounds unlikely but then again, super-loyal customers will do all kinds of things.

Here are some brand extensions I don't want to see:

1. Nike nose-hair razor (not for athletes only)
2. Mountain Dew photo scanner (no caffeine jitters for my photos)
3. Starbucks plumbing service (no caffeine jitters for my pipes)
4. Amazon.com Airways