I'm pretty sure the battery is 2 lithium polymer cells and one of the 2 cells has gone bad - it's a serious fire hazard! That advice to disassemble it is completely wrong! If the pouch gets punctured and exposed to oxygen it will go up in flames as well as spewing toxic smoke. You also shouldn't dispose of it in the regular garbage.
You need to figure out how to get rid of hazardous waste in your area.
Is there some kind of vendor that sells old batteries that don't have much power in them? I was hoping to spend about $20. Maybe some sort of recycler.
What part of Canada are you in?
There are organizations that "recycle" donated electronics by getting old devices working and selling them at relatively low cost. One of them might have an old battery. Most run locally, or work through other organizations to get the devices to people who need them.
You might be able to get a used chromebook off marketplace or craigslist for cheaper than buying a new battery. You might even be able to find a similar model to get the battery. Or you might be able to move the ssd/hard drive over to the new one.
I only need enough juice to survive being unplugged for a few minutes without shutting down abruptly.
The laptop will probably run without a battery at all. Do you really need it to run while unplugged?
Is it possible to bypass the battery as a power source when plugged in so that they don't get swollen in the future? I would rather just leave devices plugged in all the time.
Computers should already do this. When the battery is fully charged they stop charging it and run directly off the ac power - unless of course something goes wrong and (for example) the battery stops reporting when it is fully charged. There might be a BIOS setting to bypass the battery completely, but it likely wouldn't charge it either. As far as I know this is outside the control of the OS though.
Is there a way to make the USB power more securely attached so it doesn't disconnect at the slightest movement? Super glue?
The port can probably be replaced by someone who knows how to solder. However, have you tried different usb cables to determine if it's the cable or port that is the problem? If it is the port then you might be able to gently squeeze the female port with pliers to make it tighter. Don't over-do it or you'll fold it closed completely. I wouldn't use super glue. At best it will scrape off and fall out, at worst you'll get it all over the contacts and that will make everything worse.
That would totally depend on the model. 18650's would only be used in a laptop with a thick base. It could be another you're off feel cell type or it could easily be a lithium polymer pouch and disassembling it could result in a fire.
I wouldn't recommend doing this without knowing what you're doing.
Bicycling across the Marine Parkway Bridge is common, but is actually forbidden by the MTA, which asks riders to dismount and walk. But Brickman said it's generally safer to bike than walk because of the number of cyclists and the narrowness of the pedestrian path.
I know. I hate myself. But she begged me to do it.