T42 battery life seems poor

[noetus]

I have the extended 9 cell battery in my T42 and I don't much like its performance. I get roughly 3-3.5 hours of life out of it. Its design capacity is 77.76 Wh, its current capacity is 73.88Wh, its cycle count is 33 (is this normal wear for 33 cycles?) and the current drain (I'm writing this on battery power in a cafe) hovers around the 19-21W mark. The standard 6 cell battery that came with the machine is so bad it is little better than an emergency backup.

Perhaps I could get better performance by dimming the screen, changing the voltage levels on my CPU (I set it to 'Dynamic Switching' while on battery power, but haven't messed with it more than that, e.g. with NHC - current temp around 50C) and turning off all unnecessary peripherals (though I don't know how to do that). However, I don't like dimming the screen below maximum (it quickly becomes unacceptably dim - indeed, as soon as I plug the machine into the mains the screen gets brighter still from highest setting on the battery and I breathe a sigh of relief), I use a Bluetooth mouse and internet connection, and turning off the Wireless doesn't seem to make a **** bit of difference anyway.

..start of rant..

Speaking of screens, when are the next generation e-ink laptop screensgoing to come out, anyway? They are not active power like LCDs, so much lower power requirement, and contrast is many times better than LCD, almost like pen and paper. These things reflect ambient light, instead of needing every pixel individually refreshed 60 times a second (how quaint, and stupid!). Laptop screens are so c**p, awful to look at and just power hungry like mad, I just can't wait till this 10-year old technology is finally updated. In years to come we will look back at LCDs and laugh.

By the way, I think people who buy DESKTOPS with LCD screens are utterly mad. High quality CRTs are so much better in colour contrast, richness, and gamut, but it seems everyone just swallows the hype and goes for the "latest is best" mantra.

And talking more of screens, I have a mobile phone with a far better LCD screen than my Thinkpad or indeed any other laptop screen I've seen. It is a Nokia 9300, and the colour screen inside the phone just has superb contrast. White is WHITE, not the washed-out blah on my Thinkpad, and colours are amazingly clear and bright. It can be viewed in bright Califnornian sunlight, unlike any laptop screen I've ever seen! Maybe they can only make this type of screen in small sizes?

..end of rant..

[jdhurst]

Has it ever occurred to you in your rant that some of us (who also know what we are doing) have different objectives than you? Please broaden your very narrow vision. I am *not* utterly mad. ... JD Hurst

[christopher_wolf]

The digital paper-and-pen technology is still a good ways off; current prototypes right now are OK, but they are getting better. The brightness is variable; if you don't like the brightness, then turn it up. Realize, however, that will draw more power from the battery as well...It is a trade-off.

Also, there are two pointing devices on the Thinkpad to eliminate the need for external mice or other gadgets one would use for pointing. Bluetooth and USB take up power from the system as does Wireless. Low power consumption has been the goal of the mobile electronics industry for many years.

[sugo]

CRT's flickers give me headaches. CRTs are also huge and heavy. LCD just works much better for me.

To my eyes, the 14.1" T42 SXGA+ LCD is dimmer with lower contrast than quite a few consumer laptops I have seen. It's pretty sad that a $3000 machine has an inferior screen than a sub $1000 dell. Oh well.