My laptop is dying. I’ve had it for three-and-a-half years now, making it a veritable dinosaur. It’s a wonderful dell 700m, with the extended battery. At a mere 4.5 pounds (practically a feather in those days), it gave me 5 hours of battery life on a single charge (practically an eternity back then).
Now, I get less than 3 hours on a full charge, and the wireless card is intermittently functional at best.
Thankfully, I have a desktop. Since I’m no longer in school, the laptop is not my primary computer — the desktop is. That being said, I still use the laptop an awful lot. It kills me that I now have to take the power cord if I want to go sit at a coffee shop and write for the afternoon whereas before I could sit and write and never worry about that little battery icon.
So I’m looking at possibly replacing the laptop, though I figure I can hold out for a little while longer. I’m looking at the dell Vostro 1310 (it’s listed in the small business section). With the extended battery, it’s supposed to provide over 7 hours of battery life, and you can purchase a second extended battery (which I believe swaps with the CD drive) for an extra 7 hours of battery life. If I do break down, I’ll let you know. For now, however, I’m trying to hold onto the 3 precious hours I get to be with my old laptop every time the battery’s charged.
lol, i cant leave mine unplugged for more than 5 mins without it dying….
Have you thought about getting a new battery for your current laptop? My Mac Powerbook gets half the battery life that it did when it was new 3 1/2 years ago (I guess they call that built-in obsolescence), but I’m fixing to replace the battery rather than buy a new Mac. A new battery is definitely cheaper (at least in my case), and I hate the thought of having yet another obsoleted laptop/computer laying around my house.
One way to prolong your battery life, while you make a decision: if you have wireless capability, be sure to turn off your wireless connection if you are not on the Internet. The connection alone uses up a lot of battery power, even if you are not browsing. I’ve seen a notable difference in my battery life if I turn off the wireless connection when I’m doing things other than surfing.
I’ve thought about the new battery, but after some hemming and hawing I’ve come to the conclusion it’s not worthwhile — the laptop itself is rather obsolete, and I wouldn’t mind an upgrade for the rest of the technology.
Then again, I’m probably a ways away from making a decision on the laptop, so I may change my mind a few more times in the interim.