Wires, batteries will soon be things of past

more batteries, no more chargers and no more wire spaghetti. This is the future promised by "wireless power", a means of broadcasting electricity through the air to laptops, iPods and other gadgets without the need for cables and sockets.

Untethered lighting, audio speakers and digital picture frames are expected to be among the first commercial products demonstrated in Las Vegas this week at the International Consumer Electronics Show, the world's biggest gadgets tradeshow.

Experts believe this is just the beginning and Toshiba PA3506U-1BRS Battery that eventually wireless electricity - dubbed "WiTricity" by some - could do for battery life what WiFi did for the Internet. In a world without wires, laptop users in cafes and airport terminals would be inside an "electricity hotspot" and no longer have to delve past legs, bags and furniture in search of an awkwardly located socket.

"You'd be able to buy a desk that charged any gadget placed on it, or power any PC you put on top," said James Holland, editor of gadgets website Electricpig.co.uk.

"If each room had wireless power, you'd know that once you walked through the front door your mobile would start charging up - even while still in your bag or pocket. You'd never need to hunt for the right charger again."

Among the companies showcasing the ambitious technology at CES is PowerBeam. Its system Toshiba PA3291U-1BRS Battery turns electricity into an invisible laser, then literally beams it, as heat, across the room to a solar cell that converts it back into electricity.

David Graham, the co-founder of PowerBeam, said: "We're going to delete the word 'recharge' from the English dictionary. If your cell phone is recharging on your desk all day, you won't be thinking about it."

The Silicon Valley company can currently use a laser to generate about 1.5 watts of power to a solar cell 10 meters away. This would be enough to power an electronic speaker or small LED lights, but not enough to operate a laptop, which requires an estimated 30 to 50 watts. However, Graham said that the technology could comfortably be scaled up.

PowerBeam insists its laser does not pose a risk to users' health because it is simply moving heat from one place to another. Graham said that, if someone walked through the beam, it would shut down within a thousandth of a second, then restart once the path is clear. The technology also promises energy efficiency because it would only power products when needed.

Laptop computer batteries become a hot issue

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Batteries are rarely a worry except when the devices they supply power to go dead.

But in June the battery in a Dell laptop computer caught fire during a conference at a hotel in Osaka, Japan. Pictures of the burning computer spread on the Internet.

In the last few weeks, other laptop owners learned that they had good reason Toshiba PA3356U-1BRS Battery to be concerned. Dell and later Apple Computer recalled millions of lithium-ion batteries that could overheat and create a risk of fire.

Dell asked the owners of more than four million notebook computer batteries to return them for replacement. More than one million of these batteries were sold outside of the United States.

Apple recalled almost two million batteries used with some of its notebook computers. 70,000 of them were sold in other countries.

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recalls. It described them as the two largest recalls in its history involving the consumer electronics industry.

Agency officials said Dell had received six reports of batteries overheating. These resulted in property damage but no reports of injuries. The agency said Apple had received nine reports of overheated batteries. These included two reports of minor burns and reports of minor property damage.

In Japan, officials have ordered the two companies to investigate reports of fires in at least two Toshiba PA3250U-1BRS Battery Dell laptops and one Apple laptop.

Sony of Japan made the millions of recalled batteries. Sony officials say a production problem left very small pieces of metal that could cause a short-circuit and make a battery overheat.

Experts from different companies plan to meet in California this month to discuss the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries.

As laptop computers have gotten more powerful, they require more powerful batteries. Yet batteries are still not powerful enough to satisfy many users.

Some people see microcell technology as a solution. Microcells use energy sources like hydrogen and methanol. Many companies are working to find ways to make them safe and useful for computers. Experts say it could be ten years before Toshiba PA3395U-1BRS Battery computers with microcells are widely available.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Sarah Randle. Transcripts and audio files of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

What is a battery?

What is a battery?

What is a battery? For the purposes of our simplified description, it’s a container with chemical compounds. It generates current from the reactions of its chemicals. The compounds convert chemical energy into electrical energy.Toshiba Laptop Battery They do so when a circuit is created (something is powered on) that frees the electrons to flow, from negative to positive, between the cells of the battery. Think of it as a stream of tiny particles that give off their charge. This movement creates the current to provide energy to the device.

To give you an example of the use of solar energy,Toshiba Laptop Battery
Toshiba PA2487U Battery, Toshiba PA3107U-1BRS Battery, Toshiba PA3383U-1BRS Battery, Toshiba PA3384U-1BRS Battery, Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS Battery, you must have noticed solar panels installed on poles along with the telephone booths while commuting on the motorway of your country.

On Gartner’s figures for this year’s first quarter, Acer’s sales grew by 26.7 percent in a declining market and it is now shipping roughly as many PCs worldwide as Dell(Dell Latitude E6400 battery). Because of the success of the Acer Aspire One, the company expects to be the market leader by volume in Europe this year.

The Inspiron Mini 10 has a 10.1-inch LCD screen (1024 x 576; WSVGA) with TrueLife high-gloss/anti-reflective technology, which features a sharp contrast finish that’s well suited to immersive 3D games and watching videos. Its widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio is designed to present websites without lots of left-right scrolling, as well as with a smoother line of sight. Expand your screen by connecting to an external monitor or TV using the HDMI port. This notebook Acer TravelMate 2100 battery has two speakers for stereo sound.

“These are the first near production-ready devices that we expect to find a home at OEMs (brand-name device makers) before Christmas time this year.Toshiba PA2487U Battery We should definitely be able to hit the $199 retail price,” according to Burchers.

“The thin book will outsell the Netbook,” McBain said, citing a statement made by Intel where they reported 75 per cent of US PC Sony VGP-BPS2A battery market was interested in the ultra-low voltage family.

It’s also worth noting that while Dell also offers Vista Home Basic on this netbook laptop batteries, they also point out that “if you choose Microsoft Vista and also would like Microsoft Office productivity software, you will need to select a hard drive option with at least 80GB of space.” I’d add that you’d also need to upgrade the RAM to at least a gigabyte if you expect to run Vista without screaming in frustration.

Nvidia–while not tying itself to the smartbook nomenclature–is also expected to show devices based on its ARM-based Tegra processor at Computex

The charge is limited, however, Toshiba PA3107U-1BRS Battery and needs renewing when it runs low.

When you recharge your laptop batteries, you’re reversing the discharge process by essentially reversing the current.

Each of these telephones is being powered by a solar panel with a Sony VGP-BPS2 Laptop Battery installed with this panel to store energy for keeping the telephone working during night when there’s no sun light. It’s a stand-alone system,Toshiba Laptop Battery
Toshiba PA2487U Battery, Toshiba PA3107U-1BRS Battery, Toshiba PA3383U-1BRS Battery, Toshiba PA3384U-1BRS Battery, Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS Battery, entirely powered by solar energy. During emergency, the commuters make use of these telephones and call for help.

However, the netbook market seems to have slowed. US-based DisplaySearch indicates that while first quarter netbook Acer TravelMate 2200 battery sales were up by 556 percent compared with the same quarter last year, they were down by 26 percent sequentially, compared with the fourth quarter of last year. Notebook sales declined 24 percent sequentially, so netbooks Sony VGP-BPS2C batteries are no longer growing against the market trend.

Newly designed from the ground up, the Intel Atom Z520 uses a 45nm (nanometer) design structure with new hafnium-infused circuitry–which reduces electrical current leakage in transistors–to conserve even more energy and give you more time away from the wall outlet. The Intel Atom Z520 provides a 1.3 GHz CPU speed with a 533 MHz front-side bus (FSB) and 512 KB L2 cache–which uses just 2 watts of power. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; Toshiba PA3383U-1BRS Battery and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system’s performance.

The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.) It supports Intel’s 64-bit computing architecture, which can allow the use of extended virtual and physical memory with compatible 64-bit software, as well as Intel’s Hyper-Threading technology for speedier multitasking.

Nvidia–while not tying itself to the smartbook nomenclature–is also expected to show devices based on its ARM-based Tegra processor at Computex. Nvidia has been touting a $99 “HD mobile Internet device” that telecommunications companies would offer with subscription plans–the route that devices based on Qualcomm and Freescale chips are also expected to take.

The IdeaPad U350 is encased in a sleek silver shell, weighs 3.5 pounds and measures one inch thick. The notebook inside has the latest entertainment and computing features, Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS Battery such as a 16:9 aspect ratio high definition 13.3 inch LED panel and an HDMI connector.

One of the features I like about this netbook is that, unlike most of its breed,Toshiba Laptop Battery
Toshiba PA2487U Battery, Toshiba PA3107U-1BRS Battery, Toshiba PA3383U-1BRS Battery, Toshiba PA3384U-1BRS Battery, Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS Battery, Dell makes it easy to upgrade the Latitude 2100-N’s RAM. While Ubuntu runs great in 512MBs of RAM, and XP does decently in it, the netbook comes with a SO-DIMM (small outline dual in-line memory module) slot that, combined with the memory on the motherboard, will let you give the PC up to 2GBs of RAM. Nice.

Battery Types, Performance, and Charging Tips

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries are the newest technology batteries and offer several advantages over NiMH and NiCd batteries. Toshiba Laptop Battery

Lithium-ion batteries are preferred for their lighter weight and higher performance. Lithium-ion batteries are typically 20-35% lighter and will provide 10-20% better performance than a NiMH battery of equivalent mAh rating. Lithium-ion batteries are also unique in that they are not susceptible to the "memory effect".

A new Lithium-ion battery will benefit from an initial "conditioning" of the battery. For the first 3 charge cycles, fully charge the battery overnight and allow it to fully discharge before recharging. Once conditioned, Lithium-ion batteries will perform best when charged at a rate somewhere between a conventional slow charge and a rapid charge. When rapid charging, Lithium-ion batteries require a charger designed to charge Lithium batteries. To achieve a true full charge when rapid charging, the battery needs to be slow charged the last 10-15% of its charge cycle. Most "intelligent" desktop and Lithium-battery rapid chargers provide this capability. A Lithium-ion battery may be damaged by extensive overcharging (continuously on a charger for more than 24 hours).Toshiba Tecra 9000 Battery Back to Top

Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) Batteries

NiMH batteries typically provide at least 30% more talk time than NiCd batteries. While still susceptible to the "memory effect," NiMH batteries are much less prone to this condition than the older technology NiCd batteries. Proper conditioning of a NiMH battery over it's lifetime will greatly reduce the potential negative impacts of "memory effect." This can be done by ensuring the battery is fully discharged before recharging at least Toshiba Tecra 9100 Battery once in every 3-5 charge cycles.

It is very important to properly "condition" a new NiMH battery. For the first 3 charge cycles, fully charge the battery overnight (preferably on a conventional slow charger) and allow it to fully discharge before recharging. Over its lifetime, a NiMH battery will perform best if it is regularly charged on a charger/conditioner type charger. A NiMH battery may be damaged by extensive overcharging (continuously on a charger for more than 24 hours). Back to Top

Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) Batteries

NiCd batteries are the oldest technology Toshiba Satellite 1900 Battery batteries. While they offer good performance, NiCd batteries are highly susceptible to the "memory effect." Due to the overall superior performance of Lithium-ion and NiMH batteries and the additional negative environmental impact of NiCd battery disposal, CELLPOWER chooses to specialize in Lithium-ion and NiMN batteries and not carry NiCd batteries in our product line. Back to Top

The "Memory Effect"

"Memory Effect" is a condition of reduced battery performance (and eventual failure) due to a battery only using those cells that are fully discharged and charged on a Toshiba Satellite A60-662 Battery regular basis. In other words, if on a regular basis a NiCd or NiMH battery is only partially discharged before being recharged, it " forgets" that it has usable capacity to further discharge all the way down. The result is degraded battery performance and shorter battery life because the battery is using less than it's true full capacity. Li-ion batteries do not develop the "memory effect". NiMH batteries, while considerably better than their NiCd counterparts, are prone to developing "memory effect." However, proper care and conditioning over the life of a NiMH battery will significantly reduce the potential negative impacts. Back to Top

Battery Do's & Don'ts (to maximize performance)

Do's:

Properly "condition" (fully charge/discharge for first 3 cycles) Toshiba Satellite A65 Series Battery the battery when it is new.

Keep the battery and the contact terminals clean.

Avoid exposing the battery to extreme heat and cold.

Use the battery. If possible, avoid letting your battery sit dormant for long periods of time.

Use only the phone options and accessories that you really need.

Charge and re-condition a battery after an extended idle period.

Don'ts:

Toss, drop, or otherwise abuse the battery.

Short-circuit the battery.

Open and expose the cell contents.

Modify the battery casing and/or housing.

Allow the battery to Toshiba Satellite 2100 Battery be exposed to rain or excessive moisture.

Incinerate a battery. Properly dispose of a used battery.

HOW TO TAKE YOUR toshiba LAPTOP BATTERY

Laptop Battery Care

On average, laptop batteries should last for about two yearsToshiba Laptop Battery

or 200-500 recharges. However, depending on the type of battery you have, a poorly conditioned battery can begin to lose effectiveness even within the first month of use. Laptop batteries are very expensive ($100-$300 each) so please take steps to make yours last as long as possible.

Types of laptop batteries

There are three main types of laptop batteries: Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH), and Lithium Ion (Li-ion).

Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd)

This type of battery must Toshiba PA2487U Battery be fully discharged and then fully recharged every few weeks. If you do not do this, it will quickly lose battery life due to what is called memory effect. This means that if you do not discharge your Ni-Cd battery completely, it will only charge up to the percentage of last charge. So if you only discharge it down to 25%, it will begin to only be able to charge up to 75%. It will only be able to charge at 100% if you discharge it all the way (100%).

Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH)

Ni-MH batteries are similar to Ni-Cd batteries although they are not as prone to the “memory effect” and have more capacity to charge (so they will allow your laptop to run longer).

Lithium Ion (Li-ion)

Li-ion batteries do not have problems with memory effect, Toshiba PA3107U-1BRS Battery but Li-ion batteries will lose effectiveness if they are overcharged or left in full charge without use. For example, if you rarely use the battery and keep the laptop plugged in, the battery will lose effectiveness. There can also be problems if the battery is fully charged and then not used, then charged again.

What should you do to keep your battery healthy?

1) Battery packs should be charged for 12 hours when you first get them. Laptop batteries are completely discharged at the time of purchase, and need a full charge before their first use.

2) For daily use, charge the battery to full, then run it on battery power only until it is completely out if using Ni-Cd or Ni-MH batteries (to prevent the “memory effect”) or mostly out for Li-ion (to prevent overcharging).

3) Do not leave your battery inactive for extended Toshiba PA3383U-1BRS Battery periods of time. Even if you use AC power most of the time, use the battery periodically to keep it in good condition. Unplug your AC adapter when the computer is not in use to prevent overcharging.

Battery Storage

If you do not use your laptop for extended periods of time (a week or more), remove the battery pack from the laptop. Store batteries in a cool, dry place away from heat and metal objects. Batteries left idle for extended periods of time will self-discharge. Remember that they will need to be charged again before using them.

Do not expose the battery Toshiba PA3384U-1BRS Battery, to high heat. Permanent damage will result if the battery is stored in temperatures above 110º F. Do not leave your battery in your car in the summer.

Disposal

Most batteries can be recycled. Don’t just throw them away—they contain a lot of toxic substances. The University of Michigan has an active battery recycling program. Batteries can be recycled in Desktop Support Services (2026 Shapiro) or in Distribution and Supply (17 Hatcher North).

In addition, if you live in Washtenaw County, you can recycle batteries at the Drop-off Station in Ann Arbor (2950 Ellsworth Road).

some about your laptop battery

Basic Tweak

If you own a recent ATI or nVidia graphics card, then you have access to a basic clock tweaking feature. Go to the Control Panel, access the Display, choose the Appearance tab, and click on Advanced Settings. Depending on the model Toshiba Laptop Battery of your graphics card, there may be automatic clock reducing features. Look for names such as POWERPLAY and configure appropriately (set to Max Battery when not using 3D graphics).

There are many components on your laptop that are rarely used. However, the components are still on standby, wasting precious power. Disabling unused components is a great way to save power.

To disable a component, right click on "My Computer" and select "Hardware." Then, click on the "Device Manager" button. This will access the Device Manger, which lists all the components in your laptop. You can now disable any component at your leisure by finding the component of choice, right-clicking on it, and selecting "Disable."

Possible devices to consider disabling or disconnecting:

Wireless (some laptops have a on/off switch)

Bluetooth

USB

Firewire (IEEE 1394)

Modem

Serial/Printer/VGA/SCSI ports

Infrared device

CD-ROM/RW or DVD-ROM/RW drive

Memory card

LAN

Sound

Remember that after Toshiba Satellite 2100 Battery disabling these components, you will need to re-enable them the same way to be able to use them again.

Additional methods

Decrease LCD brightness

Another method in maximizing battery life is setting the screen brightness.'Dim the LCD screen to the lowest comfortable level to achieve maximum battery life. If you're going to watch a DVD movie, set the brightness to its lowest if the lights in the surrounding room are off.

Standby/Hibernate

Place your computer on Standby as often as possible. When you are not using your computer for a while, place your computer into Hibernate; and when you are not using it for the time being, shut down your computer.

You can recover the previous work state of your computer faster when your computer is in Hibernate than when it is shut down. If your computer is on Standby, it takes a much shorter time to recover the work state as compared with Sony PCG-Z505 battery

recovery from Hibernate.

Disabling Processes

Running many unnecessary programs will cause your CPU to run harder, and thus use more energy. Therefore, removing any unecessary processes to save battery power.

Spyware/Virii/Hackers

Spyware and virii are destructive programs that can cause your CPU to work for them, and should be removed at once. Hackers can put virii and other malicious programs on your laptop as well, causing your CPU to work more often. Sony PCG-V505 battery Even if battery life is not a problem, it is always good to maintain a secure laptop.

Be sure to keep your virus scanner updated at all times.

AVG Antivirus is a great FREE antivirus scanner.

Spybot S&D, as well as Ad-aware, are great FREE anti-spyware programs. Download both, since they are not all 100% effective.

Using a firewall can prevent hackers from accessing your laptop, and should be active at all times. Windows has a built-in firewall (Windows XP SP2 and above) that works fine. ZoneAlarm is a great FREE firewall, better than the built-in Windows firewall.

Keeping Windows updated through patches is always a good idea to prevent hacker attacks. A common way for hackers to access your computer is through Internet Explorer. Even the latest patched version still has security "holes." Download Firefox, the Sony PCG-R505 battery best FREE web browser, to alleviate these problems.

Unnecessary Startup Processes

Laptops bought from companies such as Dell, Compaq, Gateway, Emachines, IBM, etc, have many'unnecessary startup programs. Disabling these programs not only saves battery life, but also saves precious RAM. By removing these programs from the startup repretoire, you also have the advantage of having a faster startup time.

First, select "Run..." in the Start menu.

Then, input "msconfig" into the field

Access the "Startup" tab, and take a look at the programs you have starting up. Disable'everything that you don't need. Examples of programs that you need include:

ATI Tool (from the Laptop Underclock/Undervolt guide)

RM Clock (from the Laptop Underclock/Undervolt guide)

ctfmon

MSN/Yahoo/Trillian

Misc. hardware programs, eg for a HP printer

Virus scan

Experiment! Another good idea is to Sony VGP-BPS10 battery, disable everything, then take a look at what's missing that you need, find the program that you need (take a look at the Command - it shows where the program is located), and enable it. Then, repeat. If you don't know what a program is, you should probably disable it

Next, click on the "Services" tab. Check the "Hide All Microsoft Services" tab. Although you can disable many Microsoft services to further increase performance, we are not going to cover it. You can search on the internet for guides that will help you with this. It's a lot more difficult, and the results are different for each person.

Again, do as you did for the Startup tab. Keep everything that you think you might need. Be sure to keep your Antivirus scanner service. Many program services are just to aid in load times, or other trivial tasks. Disable them, then test the program to see if it still works.

Conclusion

By configuring your laptop effectively, one can Sony laptop battery easily increase laptop battery life. In this guide, we discussed proper laptop battery care, configuring your laptop Power Profile, configuring your graphics card, disabling hardware, disabling software, and protecting your computer from malevolent programs. Following these simple tasks will lead to a safer laptop with a longer battery life.