Dell: No, our laptops don't smell like cat urine

Dell has, er, come clean about a problem forum users have commented about for months: Its Latitude E6430u laptop does indeed have a pungent aroma, but it was caused by "a manufacturing process that has now been changed," and "is not in any way related to biological contamination." Dell's response came after months of complaints by laptop owners who insisted that the model smelled, in the words of one commenter, "as if it was assembled near a tomcat's litter box."

According to Dell, the "smell is absolutely not urine or any other type of biological material. The parts have been tested and we have confirmed this 100%. The smell is caused by a manufacturing process which has now been changed." Dell says it's offering a replacement part, and that the problem doesn't affect newer versions of the laptop.

Comments about the E6430u's smell date back to June, and the initial response from Dell customer support was a suggestion that users remove and clean the keyboard. In August, as complaints mounted, Dell had several customers ship their laptops to the company for analysis, and later determined that the issue didn't represent "a health hazard," and that "no other parts of the computer or manufacturing process are affected."

Photo: JohnnyMrNinja