0% If cats have nine lives, a laptop battery probably has, well...less than one. In fact, they typically die a young, tragic death, one that has you muttering, "what a shame, they were too young to go."
Consumerist breaks out a few rules for giving your battery a few extra cycles and allows it to live until we're ready to retire it to the warm sunny beaches of Florida (well..the local recycling center, hopefully.)
Here's what we learned from Consumerist:
• Keep the temperatures out of the extreme range by keeping your laptop in a nice normal temperature. Don't leave it out in less than 40 degree weather, and keep it from overheating. This means, keep it off of the couch, or anywhere that doesn't allow air to circulate and keep it cool, that means even your lap for long periods of time. (Consider buying one of these.)
Yeah, I'd love to know what extends battery life. I just got a new computer and the stupid battery life seems to be no longer than 1.5 hours. Shouldn't it be longer than that?
view anne's profile
My laptop battery, too, seems to only last for two hours, instead of the advertised four. It's good to remember, though, that laptop battery lives are often calculated with few (if any) applications running, the wireless card off, etc. Turning off the wireless card helps a ton.
I also make a point to dim the screen each time I turn on my laptop.
view eaevansmd's profile
I guess you are making me glad I got the large capacity battery from Sony for my Vaio laptop. Not only does it last twice as long, but it sticks out at an angle in back and thus props the laptop off the desk a bit, allowing air to pass underneath and keep it cooler.
view Suzanne's profile
I had my laptop on the couch while reading this. It in now not on the couch. *chagrin*
view sciencegeek's profile