[RedHerring]

First off, I guess I should say that my new iBook (arrived about 2 hours ago ) is not only my first laptop, but also my first Mac. After years of pain and suffering in Windows Hell, I decided to take the plunge and give the Mac a spin. So far, I'm very impressed! I've been silently watching these message boards as I waited for my iBook to arrive, and decided this was the best place to begin my exploration of the Mac laptop because, for the most part, everyone here seems to be knowledgeable and helpful.

My first (of probably many) newbie questions is:

Does the battery in the iBook need to be allowed to run down completely before I charge it up again? I mean, is it one of those batteries that "learns" and will stop fully charging if I don't allow it to run down?

One further thought, I have a second question:

Does it hurt the battery if it's fully charged and I leave the ac adapter plugged in?

Thanks in advance.

[Chimpmaster]

1) The OS estimates the battery length by your previous usage, it is meant to become more accurate with time. If you are a demanding user, you wont get the full 5 or 6hrs (depending on the model), and the computer will recognise this, and initially provide an estimate of the battery length when full charged based on your prior usage.

ie when mine is fully charged, the meter says 4hrs. Sometimes I get 5, other times only 3 depending on what I am doing and whether or not I have usb devices plugged in whilst running off the battery. The computer provides me with an educated estimated avergae. I dont believe however, that the battery itself modifies its behaviour based on mine (which I s what you were getting at i think).

2) No issues with leaving the ac adaptor in 24hrs a day. The battery does have a limited life and depending on your usage, you may get between 1 and 3 years out of a battery, which is perfectly normal.
I dont believe you can lengthen battery life by any particular behaviours, although less usage will obviously give you a longer life than more.

[SupahCoolX]

1) NiCd (Nickel-Cadmium) batteries or NiMH (Nickel metal hydride) batts need to be fully run down before recharging. However, the iBook (and every mac in the past few years) comes with the more expensive and more technologically advanced (albeit longer lasting) LiIon (Lithium ion) batteries. These batteries can be charged, decharged, recharged whenever and whereever you want. Amazingly, some computer makers still ship laptops with NiCd or NiMH batteries *cough*wintel*cough*, but not Apple. Ain't they great?

2) Leave it plugged in as long as you want. It's just like leaving a desktop computer, TV, lamp, etc plugged in when you're not using it.

If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask! You came to the right place by visiting these forums.

[ibookguy]

Just thought I would throw in my 2 cents... I've had my ibook (Rev A) for almost 2 years (9-27-99.) I use it EVERYDAY. Twice as a matter of fact. It goes back and forth to work with me, and I don't think hardly a night goes by that I don't do something with it. I have never changed my behavior about when to charge or not charge. It does 'sleep' most of the day at work.
Anyway, I am still getting 2 1/2 good hours out of a full charge. I'm very impressed. I originally thought that I would be replacing the battery yearly.

Michael