Battery

You just got your new iPhone 5 and the thought of losing it is far from your mind. But statistics show that a lot of people lose their iPhones or or get it stolen as more thieves eye the popular device. You can take steps right now that can help you quickly recover your smartphone if you were ever to misplace it or someone makes off with it. First, set up a passcode for your iPhone. It can be inconvenient but it can also help your chances of recovering your phone. And make sure "location services" is turned on. You can find that in "Settings," and then at the top of "Privacy.

State regulators took the highly unusual step Wednesday of suspending operations at a Vernon battery recycler that has discharged harmful quantities of lead for years and more recently has been deemed to pose a danger to as many as 110,000 people because of arsenic emissions. The state Department of Toxic Substances Control said its order came after officials learned this spring that Exide Technologies, one of the largest car battery recyclers in the world, had been continuously releasing hazardous waste into the soil beneath its plant because of a degraded pipeline.

Superstorms that slammed the East Coast prompted many Southern Californians to take a hard look at their own emergency preparedness plans, including how to keep cellphones charged when the power goes out. With a flurry of battery-boosting devices landing on the market, I tested eight of the latest and most novel designs on a recent ski trip to Colorado, reasoning that besides a storm, earthquake or blackout, the last place you'd want to be stranded with...

State regulators announced Wednesday that they are temporarily shutting down a Vernon battery recycler that has been under fire for posing a danger to as many as 110,000 people because of arsenic emissions. The state Department of Toxic Substances Control said its order to suspend operations came after reports this spring revealed Exide Technologies, one of the largest car battery recyclers in the world, also has been continuously releasing hazardous waste into the soil beneath its plant because of a degraded pipeline, said spokeswoman Charlotte Fadipe.

There's nothing like competition to bring down the price of a product, even expensive electric cars. Chrysler Group said it will be offering a special deal on its first electric car, the Fiat 500e, when it goes on sale this summer. While the sticker price will be $32,500 before various government incentives, California residents can lease the car for $199 a month, plus tax, and a $999 down payment. It is a 36-month lease. Photos: Top 10 cars with lowest cost per mpg “It is a pretty attractive deal to test the waters and see what kind of a take rate they can get,” said Mike Wall, an analyst with IHS Automotive.

Sometimes it's hard to tell what's more annoying -- mosquitoes or mosquito repellent. If you spray yourself down with a typical repellent before a picnic, you can expect your potato chips and fried chicken to have a distinct DEET aftertaste. And the car ride home? Better roll down the windows if you value fresh air. But there's another option. As you may have seen on TV ads, SC Johnson has come out with Off! Clip-on, a product that promises to repel mosquitoes without any spray or odor.

Electric bikes are slowly picking up speed. Already booming in Europe and Japan, these bike-path legal bicycles combine a normal drivetrain with an electric motor, which is usually embedded in the rear hub. You decide how much to juice your pedaling with the motor, allowing you to fly up steep hills or commute to work without huffing and puffing, then push it manually when you want a workout. There are two types of electric bikes: a "pedal-assist" that kicks in only while you are pushing the pedals, and a throttle-actuated motor that works without pedaling.

A month into investigating a fire that broke out on Boeing Co.'s grounded 787 Dreamliner passenger jets, the National Transportation Safety Board said it found a short-circuit in one of the aircraft's lithium ion batteries and even traced it to a specific cell, but still doesn't have a cause. Speaking to reporters Thursday from Washington, NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman said the agency hasn't reached a conclusion on the cause of the fire that occurred in Boston on Jan. 7. But investigators have been “working around the clock to learn about what happened and why.” The lithium-ion battery system on the 787 is a cluster of eight individual cells packaged together in one box. Hersman said that all mechanical damage to the cells and the battery case occurred after the short-circuiting in Cell No. 6. FULL COVERAGE: Boeing's troubled Dreamliner The battery then experienced “thermal runaway,” a chain reaction in which heat spreads rapidly from cell to cell.

As the world's first mass-produced gasoline-electric car, the Toyota Prius has become the iPod of hybrids. More than 2 million of these automotive icons have been sold since the Prius was introduced in 1997, with mostly minor changes to its aerodynamic profile. But that's about to change with the 2012 Prius v — a larger version that looks as if growth hormones were slipped into the tank. Due in showrooms in October, the v — for "versatility" — lengthens the rear cargo hold on the regular Prius and ratchets up the hatch, opening up far more space in the back 40 without sacrificing too many miles per gallon.

Orange County prosecutors will assign former porn star Jenna Jameson a court date if they have enough evidence to charge her with battery following her arrest in Newport Beach, police said. Jameson, 38, was arrested Saturday evening at a home in the 100 block of 36thStreet on Balboa Peninsula after a person claimed the former porn star attacked her. The onetime "queen of porn" was later released on her own recognizance and given a preliminary court date for a hearing on the misdemeanor battery charge, said Lt. Evan Sailor of the Newport Beach Police Department.

Boeing Co., despite its flagship airliner being clipped by federal regulators, is still one of Wall Street's highfliers. The Chicago company reported that first-quarter profit surged 20% from the year-ago period, handily beating analysts' projections. Investors have also been snapping up Boeing's stock, sending shares up 20% this year to $90.83 on Wednesday. And perhaps most important, Boeing is preparing to restart deliveries next week of its troubled 787 Dreamliner for the first time in three months.

The National Transportation Safety Board began a two-day investigative hearing in Washington into a fire that broke out on Boeing Co.'s 787 Dreamliner passenger jet because of overheating in its lithium-ion battery systems. The NTSB still hasn't found a root cause of the fire that occurred Jan. 7 at Boston's Logan International Airport. Ahead of the hearing Tuesday, the board issued hundreds of pages of documents that show five years of history in the development and design approval of the battery system.

A 15-year-old Ventura County boy has been arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure and two counts of sexual battery, authorities said Tuesday night. The youth was arrested at his home after a woman reported that he exposed himself to her on a residential street in Fillmore on April 18, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department said.  Afterward, detectives allegedly linked the youth to two sexual batteries that were reported in the same area as the indecent exposure incident, according to authorities.

The Federal Aviation Administration approved Boeing Co.'s proposed fix for the lithium-ion battery systems on its 787 Dreamliner passenger jets, which have been grounded since January, clearing the way for a return to flight. The FAA said it will require airlines flying 787s to install containment and venting systems for the batteries. The agency will also instruct carriers to replace the batteries and their chargers with modified components. Boeing has delivered 50 787s to eight airlines worldwide, including United Airlines, the only U.S. carrier that has 787s in its fleet.

Orange County prosecutors won't file criminal charges against former porn star Jenna Jameson following her arrest in Newport Beach over the weekend. Jameson was arrested Saturday on the Balboa Peninsula on suspicion of battery after someone complained to police that they had been attacked by the former porn star. The onetime "queen of porn" was later released on her own recognizance and given a preliminary court date for a hearing on the misdemeanor battery charge, said Lt. Evan Sailor of the Newport Beach Police Department.

Former porn star Jenna Jameson is scheduled to make an initial court appearance May 17 for allegedly attacking a woman, Newport Beach police said Monday. Jameson, 38, was arrested Saturday evening at a home in the 100 block of 36th Street on Balboa Peninsula after a person said the adult-film mogul attacked her. The one-time "queen of porn" was later released on her own recognizance. Orange County prosecutors have not yet received the case to assign an arraignment date if she were charged.

Cartoonists aimed double-barreled ink cartridges last week at Washington's twin Topic A's: Alito and Abramoff. John Trever gave more weight to volumes of the judge's recent reasoning than to his Reagan-era writings. And although most of us couldn't resist gleefully linking the lobbying scandal solely to the GOP in-crowd, Steve Breen played it buy-partisan. Hard to put a price tag on such equal-opportunity disdain. Another A-list political celeb, Ah-nold, got a body-armor makeover from Rex Babin.

A century-old battery originally developed by Thomas Edison to power cars may find new life today with new electrodes developed at Stanford University that allow the battery to be charged and discharged much more rapidly than older versions of the device. The Edison battery, which uses nickel and iron electrodes immersed in an alkaline medium, uses cheap metals that are readily available. Unlike modern lithium-ion batteries, moreover, the Edison battery is unlikely to explode in a crash.