Isaac_K_Rabinovitch@cup.portal.com (01/16/88)
heiby@mcdchg.UUCP (Ron Heiby) writes: ->Dana Freiburger (freiburg@pioneer.UUCP) writes: ->> I have recently purchased a Toshiba T1200, with has 1 3.5 floppy ->> and a 20 meg hard disk. Runs off the builtin battery for 2-3 ->> hours at a time, but I use the (provided) AC adapter at home. -> ->I was just looking at the data sheet on the T1200 and it says that ->the battery is good for 7 hours. I'm planning on buying a laptop this ->spring/summer in the T1200 capability range, but battery life is ->important to me. I haven't seen your data sheet, but I'll bet if you look at it again you'll find that the 7 hour claim only applies to running the machine with the hard disk turned off. (Presumably you're supposed to turn the hard disk on and off as needed.) I've had a T1100 for a year, and the battery life claim is consistent with my experience. You've got to remember that a hard disk is a mechanical device and as such is innately more of a power pig then the purely electronic part of the machine. If you actually can run the hard disk off the batteries for 2-3 hours, then the hard disk only uses about twice as much power as the rest of the machine, which is actually quite impressive! Frankly, I don't think the era of the hard-disk portable is even close to being here yet. Winchester technology is notoriously sensitive to casual abuse, and I wouldn't want to rely on one that had been schlepped through a dozen airports. BTW, be sure to run your battery all the way down every couple of weeks so it doesn't develop a "memory". Isaac Rabinovitch Disclaimer: Just because I think you're wrong, doesn't mean I don't think you're a fun person! :-)