new to the mac world..need to get a few things straight

i'm new the mac world (i currently bought my macbook pro a few days ago) and have some questions about the battery....hope someone can help me out..


1) first of all i'm confused how to read it. for example it says 83% so how long do i really have?
2) what does it mean to calibrate the battery and why is it so important to do so..(i've been seeing that your supposed to drain the battery once a month?)
3) i turned off blue tooth, dim the backlight, have everything on energy saving mode and all that but still finding that my battery goes alot faster than it should. (all i basically do is go on the internet and aim and once in a while itunes) i quiet all the apps that i don't wanna use anymore like iphoto and garage band
4) how do i differ when i wanna put it to sleep or to shut it down?

hope someone can help me out..it would be greatly appreciated.
thanks so much,
katie

1) How long you have depends on what you're doing. Playing music or video will get you from 83% to 0 a lot faster than more web surfing or light word processing.

2) You can find out more about calibrating the battery here:
Apple - Batteries - Notebooks

3) Depending on the model you have, 8-10 hours is the estimated length of time, but if you do anything more, including itunes, that number can be more like 4-5.

4) You only need to shut down if you're not going to be using your MBP for an extended period of time. Most of the rest of the time you can just keep it in sleep. It's designed to work hard so you only really need to restart when you have some kinds of software updates to install or to troubleshoot an issue.

Oneironaut said:

1) How long you have depends on what you're doing. Playing music or video will get you from 83% to 0 a lot faster than more web surfing or light word processing.

2) You can find out more about calibrating the battery here:
Apple - Batteries - Notebooks

3) Depending on the model you have, 8-10 hours is the estimated length of time, but if you do anything more, including itunes, that number can be more like 4-5.

4) You only need to shut down if you're not going to be using your MBP for an extended period of time. Most of the rest of the time you can just keep it in sleep. It's designed to work hard so you only really need to restart when you have some kinds of software updates to install or to troubleshoot an issue.

Click to expand...

You can't get any more clear than how he put it right here. Although I would add that when you go to sites that are even the SLIGHTEST bit of flash-intensive, Flash always seems to run your battery down fast.

WiFi is a battery drain too. Turn it off if you're low on power. You usually can't get through a full work day on a single charge with notebooks. Again, it would help to know what model you have and what actual times you're experiencing (rather than "lot faster than it should").

islandgal1791 said:

1) first of all i'm confused how to read it. for example it says 83% so how long do i really have?

Click to expand...

If you click on the battery indicator, you can change what's displayed there. You have it set for percentage; change it to time (but remember its always an estimate based on you continuing to do what you're doing now, rather than what you might be doing later).

3) i turned off blue tooth, dim the backlight, have everything on energy saving mode and all that but still finding that my battery goes alot faster than it should. (all i basically do is go on the internet and aim and once in a while itunes) i quiet all the apps that i don't wanna use anymore like iphoto and garage band

Click to expand...

Are you sure those apps have actually been quit, not just "closed"? There's a difference. Also, what's running in the background? Anything?

A new Macbook nowadays should be able to handle a full day (6-8 hours) on the workload you've described. My 2007 laptop still gets nearly four hours and it's a) old and b) not the latest technology.

ah yes, if you're new to Macs you might not know that simply closing a window usually doesn't quit the application. You have to actually choose "Quit" from the application's menu or press Command-Q.

i understand everything that you guys have said..i guess the more i get use to all the features and more importantly knowing how to use them..i'll have a better understanding.
yeah the model i have is the mac book pro 13 inch. version 10.6 or something like that lol


and yeah when i close the app (i.e itunes) i click the icon quiet...am i doing it right? lol ah jeez

There are a few ways to close an app:
1) Press command and "Q"
2)Click the word itunes on the left corner of the screen and click quit
3)While holding down the command button click the icon on the dock (bottom of screen) and click exit.
Hope this helps!

nicecrew

As for #3 on Nicecrew's list, you can also just hold down the dock icon and choose quit... command key isn't necessary.

when i close the app (i.e itunes) i click the icon quiet...am i doing it right?

Click to expand...

Hmm... correct terminology will make things easier for you. Do you mean you choose Quit from the application menu?

Keeping your MBP plugged in while you're using it won't hurt the battery and can help extend the life of it since you are relying on electricity instead of battery power.

ok omg i need help big time...i lost the connection to my hot spot zone. can't get on the internet have no idea what to do.
how do i get connection back so i can go on the internet?
i'm currently on my brothers gateway laptop
anyway...he's connected with a cable modem and a wireless router...
i remember when i first got my mac....it asked me to connect automatticaly to connect to the name....and now i can't
no clue what to do .
im looking at the plus and such and i know everything is connected hense why i am able to get on the internet from his laptop so i KNOW for a fact something went wrong on my mac. HELP

nicecrew said:

3)While holding down the command button click the icon on the dock (bottom of screen) and click exit.

Click to expand...

Hmmm. Works with a left click and a right click (command-click). Whaddaya know!

islandgal1791 said:

...
im looking at the plus and such and i know everything is connected hense why i am able to get on the internet from his laptop so i KNOW for a fact something went wrong on my mac. HELP

Click to expand...

I see that the Caps Lock key works for you, but your Shift keys are failing. Not a good thing with a MacBook. But, since it's new, maybe Apple will fix that for you for free.

As for getting back online, you should first start by identifying the airport menu on your menubar (a fanning out of curved lines). Next, make sure the airport card is on (first menu item will say "turn airport off" if it is in fact on).

Then, identify which of the available networks is yours. If you were just borrowing someone else's network, that's not cool -- get your own. Anyway, once you identify your network, select it to try and connect to it. Report back.