I got an interesting letter in the mail a few days ago that had this startling revelation in it:

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Dell is voluntarily recalling and offering free replacements for certain AC adapters that were sold for use with some models of Dell Latitude, Dell Precision, and Dell Inspiron notebook computers. It is possible for the adapters to overheat, which could pose a risk of fire or electrical shock. [Full Text]

While a voluntary recall (read: “We’re about to get busted and we’ll keep the heat off of us via bad press and do this on our own”), it still is a bad situation for both sides. I’ve unplugged all my Dell notebook adapters and filled out the online forum for replacements. I’d suggest you do the same if you own any Dell laptops made as of the last three to four years. If you go to the online forum, you can enter some numbers from your power brick to determine if yours is a bad one and with a click of a button, get replacements, free of charge. It’s good to see Dell taking action before action was taken against it.