** MJ Ray markj@cloaked.freeserve.co.uk [2003-06-04 09:55]:
On 2003-06-04 09:46:39 +0100 Adrian Clark alien@essex.ac.uk wrote:
impressive battery life: for the first time ever, I really can get 3.5 hours on the road without having to scramble around for a mains socket.
That reminds me. I thought someone posted a laptop-tweaking howto a few months ago, but I can't find it in the archives. Can anyone suggest a URL, please? I want more battery life.
** end quote [MJ Ray]
I used to manage about 8 hours on my Dell Latitude C600 when I first got it. I did that with two batteries installed and a standard Debian install. Undoubtedly it helped that there was no floppy or CD installed (both bays were used by the batteries), but that was not an issue for my usage.
The downside is that the batteries are now dead, after only 2 years usage. According to Dell that is good going, about 500 recharges I estimate, but Dell reckon 300 is average. I was expecting closer to 1000 based on ordinary rechargeable batteries! That doesn't work out cheap at 77ukp +P&P +VAT.