An anecdote that only adds to Dell's PR nightmare:

Last month, Thomas Foqueran, 62, of Arizona was loading his truck and smelled smoke. Flames were shooting out of his Dell Inspiron laptop, which he had placed on the passenger side of the vehicle, and the fire spread as it ignited ammunition that was also in the truck. The truck, a 1966 Ford F-250 passed down from his father, was destroyed by the fire.

"I see Dell commercials half a dozen times a night, saying 'What can we build for you today?' " Foqueran said. "And I say, 'grandpa's truck.' "