An online news article caught my attention today, and I thought I'd pass along the information just in case LV's laptop users missed it.

A laptop user in British Columbia, Canada, was killed in a fire caused by his overheated laptop.  The laptop was left on a couch, plugged in and turned on.  On the soft surface, the laptop didn't get the ventilation it needed and in less than an hour, the lithium-ion battery overheated, burst into flames, and sparked the fire that took the man's life.

Some safety recommendations were issued by the coroner's office.

-- Always operate your laptop on a hard surface that allows ventilation.

-- If you must have it on a soft surface, look into a heat-sink base to maintain cooling.

-- Always shut down your laptop, even for short periods of time.  A good practice is to set your power management to automatically shut your laptop down after a reasonable period of inactivity.

-- Check and clean the air vents weekly.  Canned air, available at hardware or electronics stores works wonderfully to keep the vents clean.  I have two cats -- I KNOW!  ;)

-- Check your manufacturer's website for additional safety tips, recommended maintenance, and any recall notices.

AND, if you don't have a laptop and think you've got nothing to worry about, these other items have also caused fires by short-circuiting or overheating:  personal computers, DVD players, and cellphone chargers.

Remember everyone -- PLAY SAFE!!  :)