The Tech Bench

Announcing Apple’s least sexy product, the new Apple Battery Charger.

This AA wall charger holds 6 rechargeable AA NiMH batteries with a advertised lifespan of 10 years? This is Apple’s solution for wireless products like the new Magic Trackpad that require AA batteries to run.

The nice thing about this charger is the fact that it comes with the 6 batteries included. With the rate my Magic Mouse runs through batteries this could come in handy. Now that I think about it, it is pretty sexy.

The Apple Battery Charger is available from the Apple Store for $29.

[ Apple Battery Charger ]

Apple has announced the latest generation of MacBook Pros. New 13″, 15″ and 17″ models with Intel Core i5 or i7 processors are available today (or within 3 days for the 13″ MBP.)

The overall body design remains unchanged with the biggest news being the speed of the computers themselves. New dual video chips (NVIDIA for the high end stuff and an Intel chip for low end work) coupled with new Intel Core i5 & i7 processors deliver speeds that are stated to be twice as fast as the last gen.

Longer battery life is also being advertised (up to 10 hours on the 13″) by better managing the processor flow and continued improvement of the batteries themselves. New trackpads also promise faster scrolling.

As usual, the RAM and hard drive capacities have gone up across the board, with a new 512GB SSD option available.

My favorite bit of news is that the 15″ MBP gets a high res option (brings it from 1440 by 900 to 1680 by 1050) which is available in both glossy and matte:)

The new logic boards, top cases (trackpads) and batteries are most likely not backwards upgradeable to previous generation MBPs, however there is a chance that the high res 15″ screen may work in previous models (we’ll do some testing and update in the coming weeks.)

You can read all of the specs here and check out pricing here.

From the first iPod, to the MacBook Air and now MacBook Pro, Apple has been moving more and more to fixed, non user-removable batteries.

But why?

With the iPods and iPhones it made sense from an aesthetic standpoint. The clean lines of the devices would have been broken up with a cheap, plastic battery cover.

Since the devices can be easily powered in the car or with an external battery pack and have long life to begin with, the need to swap out a new battery wasn’t that great.

With laptops it made a little less sense. The original 13″ MacBook Unibody with a removable battery and the 13″ MacBook Pro (with a fixed battery) look almost identical. The battery bay on the first Unibody is a clean and functional design. Why change it?

All rechargeable batteries are consumables that will eventually need to be replaced. Non user-swappable batteries will make the eventual replacement more costly and difficult (for both the user and Apple.) The batteries can only be replaced by an AASP and not sold separately.

The end goal is to get batteries that can run all day and last the life of the device.

I think part of the problem with batteries is also part of the solution (and Apple is implementing it.)

If a battery is not designed to be swapped out of the machine, the safety of the battery outside of the machine is not really an issue. It doesn’t need to meet the requirements of a standalone product. This means that the battery can consist of more chemicals juice and less structure. This means longer battery life, lighter weight and less cost.

It’s kind of like sending cargo up to the space station. Cargo sent in the shuttle was always more expensive because it has to be safe for the crew, whereas on a stand alone rocket, the cargo can be sharp, radioactive, etc.

If non user-removable batteries lead to lower costs, lighter weight, and longer life, I’m all for it. So far these batteries are holding up fine and if they do last for 3+ years, I’d say problem solved.

Running out of battery power on your phone in the middle of nowhere can be an interesting experience, so here’s a way to charge up your phone wherever you have sun shine.

The Solio Magnesium Edition lets you charge your iPhone using solar power. Flip it open to reveal the flower shaped solar cells. The small battery inside stores enough power for two full charges, letting you charge up the Solio during the day and plug in your phone at night.

You can also use the supplied AC adapter to charge the internal battery when you’re at home. Works with a number of other cell phones using iGo adapters. Cost – $169.95

[ Solio ]

Activity Monitor in Applications > Utilities

Your Mac’s battery may drain faster if there is an application that has “run away” or taken over system processes.

This can happen to an application if it has crashed or is unstable. This may lead to the app using to much of the processor resources, which in turn causes the system to consume unnecessary power.

You can look at the Activity Monitor (in the Utilities folder) and see what percentage of the CPU any given app is using.

If an idle app is consuming more than 70% of the CPU, try quitting the app to regain CPU process control.

If you use your Mac laptop by sleeping rather than shutting down when not in use, it’s worth a look in the Activity Monitor to make sure no apps are hogging resources that will decrease battery life.

Calibrate every few months for the best performance.

Did you know that you can calibrate your Mac laptop’s battery to boost performance and prolong its life?

There is an internal microprocessor (that can be calibrated) in the battery that provides an estimate on the amount of energy left in the battery. This calibration helps to keep the onscreen battery time and percentage display accurate. This in turn helps the computer properly charge the battery reducing the overall amount of cycle counts on the battery.

Apple recommends calibrating the battery when you first use the computer and then every few months.

For MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and PowerBook G4 (15″ 1.67 DL SD only)

1. Plug in the power adapter and let the book fully charge (green light will appear on the power adapter.)

2. Keep the power adapter connected for at least 2 hours (to charge the PRAM battery) You can use the machine during this time.

3. With the machine on, unplug the power adapter and let the computer run until the battery fully drains and the laptop goes to sleep. Leave the machine in sleep mode (or off) for at least 5 hours.

4. Connect the power adapter and let the battery fully charge (until the power adapter light turns green.) That’s it.

For iBook and PowerBook G4 (All models except 15″ 1.67 DL SD)

Fully charge the battery (green light on power adapter.) Unplug the power adapter and run the laptop until the battery drains  (it powers off or goes to sleep.) Connect the power adapter and let the battery fully charge. That’s it.

PowerBook G4 15" Aluminum Battery

Symptom: Laptop not powering on (seems dead) even with the AC adapter plugged in and won’t charge the battery.

Cause: Some laptops need the battery installed with at least some charge left to boot and charge.

Macs Affected: PowerBook G4 15″/17″ Aluminum

Solutions: Install another battery with some charge left and then hot swap your old battery back in while the AC is connected or charge your battery in a friends book by hot swapping your battery or use an external battery charger or purchase a new battery.

This issue usually manifests itself after there is an issue with the DC-In Board. With the unit no longer able to charge, the laptop battery will become completely drained. After the new DC-In is installed the unit will not boot or charge because the battery is dead causing a Catch-22.

Note: MacBooks and MacBook Pros sometimes won’t boot without their battery depending on the condition and charge of their PRAM battery.