[P1] More on ibook sleep

[david]

On 1/10/04 7:31 PM, "Christopher Hack" <cjhack at onetel.net.uk> wrote:

> Read with interest the sleep discussion, with the consensus being that it is
> fine to let your ibook sleep most of the time, instead of keep re-booting.
> My question is, how does this affect battery life. Surely this means more
> usage of the battery, so does this not shorten the life? Thanks all in
> advance!

If the computer is asleep the RAM is getting a small trickle so the contents
don't erase and, of course, the little 'I am asleep' diode pulses. Asleep or
off, a small trickle is feeding PRAM and the clock. Either way the battery
is slowly being used. My educated guess is that sleeping uses nearly twice
as much energy. In either case, it isn't much.

Worrying about how much sleeping it vs turning it off uses up the battery is
silly. The simple fact is a battery wears out and we know that a lithium ion
battery is harmed most by being fully discharged. Letting it go down 20% and
recharging it isn't a big deal. Worrying about this is as silly as worrying
about whether turning a computer on and off will kill a computer faster than
leaving it on all the time.

Do what works for you. When I get to work (or back home) I want to sit down
and begin using my computer. I don't want to spend 2-4 minutes waiting for
it to start up, for my applications to load, and to get my documents opened
again. Let's assume for the sake of argument this convenience costs me a
month or two of battery life. I count it well worth the cost.

david