[Bruck]

Ok, yesterday was the first time i took my powerbook from my desk. I took it to the NCSU vet school, where they have wireless internet throughout the whole school.

I arrived with a full charge on my 15 1.25ghz aluminum pb. I have the 5400rpm 80gb hd. From the moment that I turned it on at 10:15, i had the brightness at 1 to 3 bars, About halfway thru i realized i was able to use the screen at one bar and continued to use on that setting. I was listening to music on the speakers (at full volume for 40% of the time) I was running processor at reduced. I was using wireless to chat in ichat, using safari as well. The meter originally read 2:40 min. It ended up lasting between 2hrs and 15 min and 2hrs and 30 min. So the meter was accurate. I did not use it till it died, i turned it off after i got the "shut down now or plug in soon" message (time read 10min at that point).

I have a few questions. 1) I am very dissapointed with this time. I thought that while having the brightness all the way down i would get much closer to 3hrs. I also realized as soon as i got home that it is much nicer to have the brightness all the way up, it doesnt do the powerbook justice.

So here are my questions. Does anyone make an adapter that acts like a portable external battery? plugs into the power adapter slot but is not connected to the wall? This i wouldnt mind since i was sitting at a cafeteria table the entire time. I would also like to know if I had been using full brightness, would the battery have lasted less than 1 hr?? I guess that if i had airport off i would have gotten much longer battery times, but that doesnt matter, since i use the mac for chatting and bs'ing without the internet my mac is not half as useful to me.

I will probably buy an additional battery for my powerbook, thus doubling my battery life, with just the swap of a battery, but if i want full brightness i might get the same life with 2 batteries.

p.s. after my first traveling experience i have a need for a new bag. I have posted a new "bag" question in the correct sticky thread, your attention to that post would be most appreciated.

[SEkker]

This is one of the fortes of the iBook line. I am considering a new G4 iBook because of recent reports of >5 hr battery life.

[Commodus]

Get a Panther upgrade; even if you don't qualify for the #20 up-to-date price, it could well be worth it. I've heard of Panther extending battery life significantly.

[Bruck]

I FORGOT TO MENTION I AM RUNNING 10.3

[Gir]

I've heard about people getting bad battery life with the new 15s as a result of the faster processor and components, but I had no idea it was two hours. I wonder how much that 5400rpm hard drive has to do with it though (with the music making it spin the whole time). I realize I don't use as much power but with my rev a 12 under 10.2.8 I get 3:30 or more with airport on. The second battery is probably a good idea. Do the new 15s have the backup battery that holds it in sleep long enough to exchange batteries?

I've also found, at least in my case, that the reduced processor performance doesn't make much of a difference in battery life. I don't know how this is under panther or on the 15s. I've also found full brightness to shave about 15 minutes to half an hour off of my battery life and listening to music to take off at least 30 to 45 minutes at full volume. If it's any consolation, your time is far better than my old pc laptop.

[threestain]

Have you calibrated the battery properly yet? Because I'm sure that'll make a difference. I have a TiBook, and I get 3-4 hours, before Panther, playing DVD's anyway.