Looking for an App to notify me when battery gets to a certain charge level. Ideas?

I heard from a Apple store employee that it's best to keep my laptop battery (MacBook Pro 15", bought in 2007) between 30-90% charge to preserve its life.

Been trying to remind myself to unplug the laptop when it gets to 90% and plug it back in when gets to 25% or so.

There's gotta be an app out there that will remind me automatically.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Personally, think that's baloney.

Here is the official Apple take on caring for your battery.

Apple - Batteries - Notebooks

In particular catch the links under Applecare for 'How to calibrate....' and 'How to maximize...'.

Bottomline, use your computer the way you need to and want to. Implement the suggestions there into your normal usage patterns when you can.

Thanks. Interestingly, on the page you referenced it says:

"For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time."

According to that same page, my battery's only supposed to last some 300 charge/discharge cycles.

So is it better to keep the battery juices flowing all the time, or to keep it plugged in all the time and only calibrate it every month or so?

I also wonder if Apple's answer (and training of its employees) has to do with financial incentive.

The less Apple users know how to prolong the life of their batteries, the more often they need to replace their batteries, and the higher Apple's stock prices...

So you'd rather be inconvenienced every day for 24 months or longer of having to go find a plug or unplug the thing rather than just using your notebook the way you want to use it?

Sounds like you have the same battery as in my MBP and it only runs $90-$100 for the Apple branded battery. I'll take my own convenience for those same 24 months and have to buy a battery a month or two sooner than you do.

Regardless of how the battery is taken care of, most will need to purchase one, or at the most two batteries before it's time to pass their computer on to someone else and get the next newest one.

GeorgeKao said:

So is it better to keep the battery juices flowing all the time, or to keep it plugged in all the time and only calibrate it every month or so?

Click to expand...

Of the two, using it constantly will kill it faster than using it once a month.

Batteries die for lots of reasons. Too much or too little is not good. Too much use is probably worse than too little.

Basically, your battery is going to die eventually. Accept it. Use your computer the way you need to use it, and accept that, sooner or later, you'll have to spring for a new battery. Just avoid extremes if possible.