[iBook] What battery life are you getting?

David Binnion davidwb at spymac.com
Tue Sep 21 10:12:27 PDT 2004


On 9/21/04 10:55 AM, "Tom Legare" <Tom.Legare at comcast.net> wrote:

> On my 500MHz iBook running OS X 10.3.5 my battery life is only lasting
> about an hour these days.  When this computer was new, I could get 3.5
> hours in OS9 mode.  Now, it seems to get shorter and shorter with each
> updated version of OS X.

First, OS 9 was very well optimized for battery. I can remember going all
day at work and even have a staff meeting and never worry about running out
of juice. Those were the days. OS X is based on an OS that hasn't
historically been a notebook OS and while each upgrade has brought somewhat
better battery usage it still isn't there yet. Of course, at the same time
the computers themselves are becoming less frugal.

You are attributing the lowered battery performance with OS updates but what
is really going on is time. Your battery is aging. Depending on how you use
it, you'll find your battery lasts 1-3 years before becoming noticeably less
than it was. I generally buy a new batter at about 18 months and use the
older one as a spare.

david





More information about the iBook mailing list