eling rather than recharging." Parker notes, however, that Dell is continuing to evaluate various fuel cell technologies. Howard Locker, chief architect of Armonk, New York-based IBM's per- sonal computing division, says fuel cells will never become popular because users will have to pay for each refill. "Today, when you charge a battery, it's free," he says. "Folks are already at nine hours on a battery, SO how much better does it need to get?" Locker's opinion of fuel cell technology: "It's a nonstarter." Two notebook makers, however, are undeterred by the naysayers and plan to push ahead with fuel cell technology. Toshiba and NEC have each announced they will start selling fuel cell-equipped notebooks during 2004. 8.4 MICROCOMBUSTION BATTERY The search for a better battery is getting a push from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), which has given Yale Univer- sity's engineering department $2.4 million to develop readily rechargeable microcombustion batteries. The Yale research is part of DARPA's Palm Power program, which addresses the military's need for lighter and more compact electrical power sources. "DARPA is shooting for something that weighs as little as a few ounces to power the growing number of communications and weapons systems that tomorrow's soldiers will carry," says Alessandro Gomez, director of the Yale Center for Combustion Studies and a professor of mechanical engineering. Microcombustion technology generates heat by slowly burning tiny amounts of liquid hydrocarbons. The heat is then converted into electricity by other energy conversion schemes such as thermoelectric and thermophoto- voltaic. By taking advantage of the abundant power densities offered by hydrocarbon fuels, a microcombustion battery with millimeter-level dimen- sions could provide the same power and operating time as a conventional battery up to 10 times its size. And microcombustion cells could be quickly refueled with an eyedropper. The Department of Defense plans to use microcombustion batteries in e