By Richard Koman for SiliconValleyWatcher

I need to buy a new Windows laptop. My last laptop just died when the hard drive went south. I resurrected an iBook G3 running 10.2 for now. And I need Windows because a) I need to run a Windows-only app and b) I can get one for $500. But now when I choose which one to get, I need to check the manufacturer of the battery. I really don't want it to be made by Sony.

That's because Apple just recalled 1.8 million batteries, a week after Dell recalled 4.1 million. Both batteries were made by Sony and they both suffer from the same defect - which contained tiny metal impurities that lead to overheating.

Did you see that picture in the Times of the burnt-out truck? That guy had been running his Dell laptop on his front seat and kept ammo in his glove box. Trouble. Does this make you think twice about your next laptop? Will this bad news turn into a major drag on the PC makers?

Sony says other manufacturers won't have this same problem, but USAToday quotes Roger Kay as saying: "Sony battery impurities are strewn across the land."

Sony fell 2.4 percent to 4,980 yen at 2:43 p.m. in Tokyo, Bloomberg reports. Sony will take a $257 million hit on the problems.

What exactly's the problem? MIT Technology Review explains that safer battery materials are available now.

According to Yet-Ming Chiang, materials science and engineering professor at MIT and a founder of A123 [one of the leading companies in the new lithium-ion technology], the cobalt-oxide or related oxide materials typically used in lithium-ion batteries become unstable if overcharged or overheated, which can happen in the case of battery damage or a fault in the manufacturing process that leads to an internal short. The unstable materials release oxygen, oxidizing other materials in the battery, which in turn produces more heat. The cycle continues in a process called "thermal runaway," which in some cases can lead to a violent explosion.

In the new lithium-ion batteries, cobalt oxide is replaced with iron phosphate, a much more stable material. Indeed, a traditional lithium-ion battery will burst into flames in abuse tests, such as being pierced by a nail. But the new materials show little reaction at all.

These new companies likely cannot meet the supply needs of Apple and Dell, but will the Valley demand that Sony and other big guys move to safer technology or will they accept Sony's assurances that this won't happen anymore?