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Thursday, August 31, 2006
Ng: Battery life
By Wilson Ng
Wired Desktop
The recall of over four million notebook batteries for Dell and over one million for Apple have put the spotlight into the one thing that we normally don’t notice, until we run out of power.
If we talk about being unwired, the most important thing is the power source.
Without batteries, you’re dead, literally. So, when I travel, I not only have to bring cell phones, notebooks, PDAs, digital cameras, iPods, and the like, I also have to bring five different chargers, just so that I would not “run out of power.”
Most of batteries now are lithium ion. Here are some tips on how to maximize the life of your batteries:
· Lithium ion lasts much longer and is also much lighter than previous types but they are sensitive to heat. To avoid damage, don’t overcharge and don’t store it in places that get direct sunlight, such as inside the car.
· Always be careful not to short circuit the battery. When carrying a spare battery, wrap in plastic or thick paper to prevent it from making contact with metallic objects like keys. Friction between the battery and metallic objects can damage it. Count yourself lucky if, when that happens, your battery gets drained.
Batteries in the 1990s were made of nickel cadmium and had a memory effect–they will not charge to full capacity if they are recharged before being fully discharged.
Today’s batteries don’t have that problem. The batteries, contrary to popular myth, will not last longer when placed inside a refrigerator.
The best strategy, they say, to prolong the life of the battery is to use them.
Continuing to keep a laptop’s lithium ion battery at full capacity will reduce the battery’s life span. So leaving a notebook charged all the time is not a good idea.
It is better to constantly use the battery and use wall current only as an alternative to run the notebook. If you constantly plug your notebook, it is better to remove the battery to prevent it from being constantly charged and becoming overheated.
How do you make the batteries last longer? Note also that the notebook continues to draw battery power when put to sleep.
To cut back on power consumption, you should shut down the computer.
If the notebook is using Bluetooth and Wi-fi, you should shut them off when not in use as these make the device consume more power. You can also power down the hard disk and dim the screen to less brightness when battery power is being used.
It is good to remove a CD or DVD when not in use from the notebook so as to prevent the disk drive from needlessly spinning. It is always good to set your notebook to turn off the monitor if not used for a few minutes, as well as power down the hard disk.
If you do not plan to use the notebook for several months, the recommendation is to remove the battery and store it at 50 percent of the charge. Storing it fully discharged will prevent it from properly charging later.
Storing it fully charged, on other hand, will reduce its life span.
On another topic, I remember long ago when there was yet no fax, texting or email and the telegram/telex was still the common form of long distance communication and messages had to be written in capital keys.
That was then, and there was good reason for it. Because there was limited “bandwidth,” operators wanted to have uniformity in the letters.
I read an article in Wired Magazine, which says that among the keys in the keyboard, the “caps lock” key is losing its importance. This is really a small matter, but they may have a point – the “caps lock” key may be taking up valuable space while not being really useful. We never think about it, but yes, what good does it do?
Ocassionally, you inadvertently press the “caps lock” key, and you have to retype the message again, because all caps is considered in most circumstances as SHOUTING, which is discourteous.
After all, if you want to emphasize, you can now make the font bigger, make it bolder, underline it, or put it in another color.
There is also a feature in Microsoft Word that allows you to convert your words into all caps.
How many times have you typed in a password, get a reply from the computer that you inputted the wrong keyword? Maybe the “caps lock” key is on? And sometimes, yes it is.
It can become such a nuisance. What do you think? Do you use the caps lock key? When and how often? Do you think it merits one full key in valuable keyboard space?
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 31, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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