The Apple PowerBook is Temporarily Grounded
I recently learned of the recall initiated Apple on some 2 million notebook batteries. The recall includes batteries for iBook and PowerBook models produced between 2004 and August 2006 (details). Sure enough, the battery for our 1.33 GHz PowerBook is included in the recall. I should be receiving a replacement battery in a mere 4-6 weeks...
But, in the meantime can I use the PowerBook? Sure! Apple says "...once you've removed the affected battery, just plug in the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives." Um...hwhat? So, that means the PowerBook is grounded and chained to the wall until the new battery arrives.
Hopefully the new battery will provide a longer-lasting charge than the current battery. I've been getting about 3 hours from it lately, though it was better when the battery was new. Incidentally, this is not the first time I've had battery problems with an Apple product: my 3G iPod was down to an hour of battery power, until the hard-drive crashed in July and rendered it dead.