The way a computer is built it is very unlikely to have a earthing problem! That said lap tops only have a positive and negative low voltage 12volts I believe, not enough to shock you.

If it is a PC then check the mains cable for a damage earth or check the building's wiring.

Every time I get out of the car I get a shock when I close the door especially now it's summer.

Really?...Go stick your tongue across the terminals on a 9v battery (square smoke alarm ones).

Usually static as the shell of the car acts as negative circuit, where as the wiring will provide 12v (live power) 12v (ignition) or a variable voltage (signal), all 'earth wires' go back to the chassis, so you will not get an electric shock from a car unless you have a +ve in one hand and a -ve in the other, you may however earth the car and allow the static to discharge.

That was just statics. It can be prevented, ask a mechanic.

Edit: Oops, upstair IS the mechanic you can listen to. ^^ Right, get a static discharge strip for your model. There's some other devices that can store statics, it's more reliable than strips but need to be replaced periodically. Nevertheless, you don't need to live with the static shock, especially when statics would cause harm to your car in the long run.

It's actually pretty standard for me to get shocked by the N900 :P

I'm using a laptop (Asus F5SL series) and usually I'm just using boxers at home (it's around 30º Celsius here all day long) and when I have the N900 connected to the laptop charging or using has mass storage and touch that metal part around the screen I get slight shocks...

never got a shock from my n900 but i once shocked my n95 and thought i'd killed it, where i work i get pretty bad static shocks on a daily basis (not intentionally, it jus happens!) went out for a smoke break one lunchtime and didn't realise i hadn't had a shock in a while, talkin on the phone i leaned onto a meatal railing and the shock ran through my hands and through my ear at the same time, fried the phone for a few seconds then it reset, but with what i assume was a blown speaker, never sounded the same again. moral of the story? smoking kills n95's! :O

I don't remeber the OP saying he got the shock licking his phone.

Your splitting hairs. Put your fingers across it - did you get a shock? Now put your finger in the 14v cigarette lighter socket in your car - did you get a shock? No on both accounts as there is insufficiant potential to shock you.

Again 14v car electrics lack sufficiant potential to shock you. 14v cannot pass through the paint work. If it could your car would disolve dramatically each time it rained.
Static on you car will most likely be cause by dry air passing over the body of the car while driving, doing so will cause a charge to build up on the car because the rubber tires insulates it. It will more liklely be in the 100s of volts as it is static electricily and static is caused by two items rubbing, not battries.

In the UK the electrical regulations state the any voltage under 50v is considered extra-low voltage (hence the use in bathrooms). At the lower end of that scale you can't get a shock because your skin lacks sufficiant moisture to conduct.
I have heard of stories of old electricians with dry hands, too lazy to get a meter, licking their fingers and then flicking live wires to feel if they were live, (not recomended) because their hands were so dry, they could touch 240v and feel nothing.

If people are getting shocks from a phone plugged into battery powered laptops, may be the air from the lap top fan is causing a stitic build up. The only thing I can think of.

Yes I have too been shocked by my N900, but when charging via USB from my laptop, which in turn was charging from mains supply... and found laptop charger wasn't properly earthed...

I get painful shock consistently when touching one particular corner of my laptop... strange feeling indeed!

This is not the first time, when my N900 is connected with my PC USB cable I get SHOCKS while touching it. Thankfully it didn't cause any damage to my handset. Is it something I have to worry??

Make sure your feet are on carpet or so, but not on the ground.

dont worry, I was hit by the lightning some 3 weeks ago and n900 were in my pocket. I'm still alive so as my n900