[lafar6503]

Many producers put a great effort into making sure you can only use their battery for replacement, even if it's obvious that any battery with correct voltage would do. Batteries should be interchangeable just like in cars- nobody sane would claim that using different brand of battery increases risk of car fire. Just set some standards on voltage and power limits and agree on common connector type, this should be done many years ago.

[jacquesm]

Mostly, but not quite: there are a ton of crap battery manufacturers that produce cells with the right form factor and nameplate ratings but that are complete junk.