you could plug in an external mouse if you like.

i guess that different batteries are different...

i use my laptop plugged into the mains (with the battery in) because my battery is fairly much stuffed already. well, i say 'already' but my laptop must be about 3 years old now and it only ever was 2 hours so it is doing alright (down to about 1 hour now). i didn't know that about exploding batteries... but yeah, i've noticed the battery disintegrating even more running it through the power so i wouldn't reccomend doing it with a new laptop.