[vetter]

I was wondering if there was some sort of mini OS or something that could allow DVDs/CDs to play without booting into OSX? Im just attempting to find ways to salvage decent amounts of battery life when playing dvds besides transferring to HD and using VIDEO_TS. Have you heard of the HP computers that have this feature?

[mduell]

I've heard of other laptops that do this (TV watching too), but Apple's do not.

Playing from the hard drive at minimum brightness with wireless off is the best you'll be able to do.

[brokenjago]

Yeah, HP offer a features called "QuickPlay" which does exactly that.

Very handy.

[chabig]

The reason companies like HP build laptops that can do that is because Windows sucks. Macs have no need for such a feature because we never shut our machines down, and don't have to wait for them to boot. Just sleep it.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by chabig 

The reason companies like HP build laptops that can do that is because Windows sucks. Macs have no need for such a feature because we never shut our machines down, and don't have to wait for them to boot. Just sleep it.

It's not just about boot-up time. Not running a full OS would save some power, maybe give you an extra 10-15 minutes of battery life.

[chabig]

Perhaps. But I was answering the original question. And let's not forget that you can't use the machine as a computer if it's not booted. I am not willing to sacrifice that utility to get 10 extra minutes of battery life.

Chris