Newsletter Archives

• How to preserve your battery charge on a Windows 11 laptop

  Posted on April 15, 2024 at 02:45 CDT by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.16 • 2024-04-15

  Look for our BONUS issue on Monday, April 22!

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Lance Whitney

  Frustrated because your Windows laptop runs out of juice at the worst possible times? There are ways to better sustain your battery charge.

  One of the best laptops I ever owned was a Lenovo ThinkPad T460 back in 2016. One major reason why I liked this machine was its dual-battery setup. Packed with both an internal battery and an external swappable battery, this unit easily delivered a solid 12 hours of life on a single charge.

  Sadly, those days are gone. With Lenovo and most other laptop makers obsessed with making machines as thin and light as possible, battery life has suffered dramatically. With my current laptop, I’m lucky to get five hours of life on a single charge. That’s fine if I’m at home or in a place where I can plug the computer into AC. But if I’m in one spot for hours, with no handy electrical outlet, then my battery charge can easily run out.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.16.0, 2024-04-15).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Windows 11 Battery charging, Battery life, Battery management, Control Panel, Newsletters, Power, Windows 11

• The season of devices

  Posted on September 4, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  It’s the time of the year when PSLs hit the menu.

  What? You don’t know what PSL means? Of course you do, because Pumpkin Spice Lattes arrive at those coffee shops you find on nearly every street corner. You can’t miss them.

  As summertime fades into fall, it’s also the season of rumors about the new phones and tablets that will soon hit the headlines. And that means it’s time for me to take a hard look at all my devices in this category.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.36.0, 2023-09-04).

  On Security Android, Backups, Battery charging, Battery life, iOS, iPhone, Newsletters, Password managers, Passwords, Patch Lady Posts

• “Battery-limiting” apps help enforce the 80/20 rule

  Posted on December 23, 2019 at 01:05 CST by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  LANGALIST

  By Fred Langa

  Lithium-ion batteries last longest when you keep their charge state between about 80 percent and 20 percent whenever possible.

  That was the core message of my December 16 (Issue 16.46.0) LangaList column. As a follow-up, here are some apps — free and paid — that can help you get the maximum possible longevity from your laptop and smartphone batteries.

  Plus: Another question about leaving a portable continuously connected to AC.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.47.0 (2019-12-23).

  LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Battery life, Battery utiities, Notebook batteries

• New laptops prompt new concerns

  Posted on December 16, 2019 at 01:10 CST by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  LANGALIST

  By Fred Langa

  Newly purchased PCs are raising some interesting hardware and warranty questions among users.

  Here are three examples from LangaList readers: two about battery care on new devices, and one about a new kind of extended warranty that includes anti-malware and driver-update services.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.46.0 (2019-12-16).

  LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Battery life, Enhanced warranties, Initial charging

• Surface Laptop 3 battery life – an in-the-wild observation

  Posted on November 28, 2019 at 05:55 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I must be holding it wrong. MS claims the Surface Laptop 3 should get 11.5 hours battery life. I've been travelling in Europe with my new SL3 13.5" and I'm routinely running out at ~3-4 hours of use. This is not really better than ANY Windows laptop I've ever owned.

  What gives?

  — Tig (@ckindel) November 28, 2019

  Surface Battery life, Surface Laptop 3

• Many ways to track down a PC’s energy problems

  Posted on July 29, 2019 at 01:12 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  

  LANGALIST

  By Fred Langa

  Overheating, poor battery life, fan noise, and shortened component life are just some of the problems a PC can face when its energy-control systems run amok.

  But Win7, 8.1, and 10 all offer tools to help you see exactly where your device’s energy is going — and to pinpoint what, if anything, is using too much power.

  Plus: The world’s most private search engine?

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.28.0 (2019-07-29).

  LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Battery life, Battery testing, private search engines