This happened to Dell machines .. I think Dell finally did a recall of those batteries. Something about impurities in the battery. http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=32550 Dell even has a website for this: http://www.dellbatteryprogram.com
Yeah, it is quite an old story, but it's the first time I saw a demonstration like that. I think a couple of other companies recalled laptops and/or batteries too, costing rather a lot of pocket money. P.S. I like this picture with the guy fearlessly using his laptop regardless, or is he nervously switching it off?: http://www.theinquirer.net/images/articles/dell banger2.jpg