Chris Mattern wrote:
Carl Fink <carl@finknetwork.com>On Wed, Jul 12, 2006 at 01:07:48PM -0700, Sean Perry wrote:That said, most laptop batteries degrade performance significantly if left plugged into the mains 24/7. So only plug in for refills.Really? Most batteries lose life if repeatedly discharged and recharged.He's remembering advice for the old NiCad type batteries. Unless you're using a laptop that's over five years old, his advice is in fact not appropriate.
Yeah, Lithium Ion batteries do have some degradation but nothing compared to NiCD or NiMH. They'll last for many years if the charging circuits used are following the manufacturer's specifications.
The biggest "issue" with the new batteries is that the charging "intelligence" is contained in the battery pack itself in most designs, and after a while the "power meter" can get a little off. Best plan for that is to completely discharge and recharge once in a while (every 3 months?) to correct any errors in battery level indicated by the laptop. Most designs now also track "interesting" information but there's not a whole lot of linux support for reading it from the motherboards that will share it with the end-user. Number of charge cycles, highest recorded battery voltage, lowest, etc... all stored in flash on the charging circuit integrated chipset.
Also Lithium Ion are recommended to be charged between 40-50% if they're going to be unused for a lengthy period of time, not "topped off".
Nate