More Newbie Questions!

I have 2 unrelated questions.

1. I just noticed on Apple's spec page for the MBP that it says the maximum operating altitude is10,000 feet. Can I really not use this laptop in-flight to watch a movie, play games or use iWork??

Apple - MacBook Pro - Technical specifications of the 13-inch model.


2. Battery life. I know, I know... I realize it can be hard to judge just how much use I should get out of my MBP before having to charge it again. I'm trying to get a better understanding of what I can expect on a normal day. I'm noticing that I'm using 1% every 3 minutes. That rate seems really high to me. Is it?

I'm still in process of doing my initial Backblaze backup with 73 files remaining. Does Backblaze use a lot of battery power that would 'justify' the 1% every 3 minutes?

I've had my MBP for 10 days now and I'm showing 9 battery cycle counts. (Is that average or high or low?)

Other things that may affect battery use: I have Finder, Mail, Safari, iCal, and Skype open/minimized. I have a Skype call connected. My display is roughly 30% brightness. I'm using a Wi-Fi connection for internet.

I've read through this thread http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/apple-notebooks/263565-can-macbook-pro-overcharge-3.html and have picked up some great ideas about battery life but it didn't seem to address my questions specifically.

Thanks for any help!

Leiyah said:

I have 2 unrelated questions.

1. I just noticed on Apple's spec page for the MBP that it says the maximum operating altitude is10,000 feet. Can I really not use this laptop in-flight to watch a movie, play games or use iWork??

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I think they mean "un-pressurized" there. So sure, you can use your Mac on an airplane, but if you try to e-mail at the top of Mount Everest ALL BETS ARE OFF.

2. Battery life. I know, I know... I realize it can be hard to judge just how much use I should get out of my MBP before having to charge it again. I'm trying to get a better understanding of what I can expect on a normal day. I'm noticing that I'm using 1% every 3 minutes. That rate seems really high to me. Is it?

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There's no way to tell without also including information about what apps are running, what your screen brightness is set to, whether both wi-fi and bluetooth are on, etc.

At that rate, your battery would last for five hours. That strikes me as about normal for normal activity with internet going, occasional video watching, maybe BT turned on and screen brightness at half or higher. Do less video watching or game playing, turn the brightness down and the BT off and start just working on your novel and see if that figure doesn't improve.

I'm still in process of doing my initial Backblaze backup with 73 files remaining. Does Backblaze use a lot of battery power that would 'justify' the 1% every 3 minutes?

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So you're saying a continuous internet connection that's constantly spinning the disk and sending stuff upstream? Yes, that would use more battery than, say, reading a web site or checking e-mail.

I've had my MBP for 10 days now and I'm showing 9 battery cycle counts. (Is that average or high or low?)

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There is no average. I almost NEVER use my battery at all -- my machine is plugged in 28 days out of every 30, so I have like a four-plus year old battery (which is now started to deteriorate pretty badly after three-plus good years) that's got (literally, just checked) 147 load cycles on it.

Sounds like you're using the machine a lot on battery currently. Nothing wrong with that at all. You might want to check Apple's guidance on battery maintenance, but from my experience I don't feel the re-calibration needs to be done as often as they say, but OTOH I don't use mine so fully on battery as you do, so maybe they're right.

Apple - Batteries - Notebooks

Its fine. I've done music production at 30,000 feet.

maximum operating altitude is10,000 feet

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Airline cabin pressure is usually 8000' so it will be fine.

MightyGem said:

Airline cabin pressure is usually 8000' so it will be fine.

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does the symbol after 8000 refer to the unit torr? and if so, is a normal atmosphere 7200 torr? trying to recall junior physics class here, so i avoided google.

does the symbol after 8000 refer to the unit torr

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No. It's the standard symbol for feet, as in yards(x) feet(') and inches(").

MightyGem: Oh you Americans with your silly measuring system!!

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

chas_m said:

So you're saying a continuous internet connection that's constantly spinning the disk and sending stuff upstream? Yes, that would use more battery than, say, reading a web site or checking e-mail.

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Ok, I guess it was a dumb question. Chas_m 1. Leiyah 0. ;D

chas_m said:

There is no average. I almost NEVER use my battery at all -- my machine is plugged in 28 days out of every 30, so I have like a four-plus year old battery (which is now started to deteriorate pretty badly after three-plus good years) that's got (literally, just checked) 147 load cycles on it.

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Now that I have a better understanding of how the battery functions, I think whenever I'm near an outlet I'll leave it plugged in. I was only charging it when the battery was low regardless of where (school, home, etc) I was at the time. When it hit 100%, I'd pull it off the charger. I'm in an old frame of mind I guess, where it was detrimental to keep electronics on the charger if the battery was full.

chas_m said:

MightyGem: Oh you Americans with your silly measuring system!!

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Hey! Don't knock the British imperial system of units! If it weren't for the British Empire all you Canadians would be speaking French! ;P

(Also, WOO! 100th post! )

Leiyah said:

Now that I have a better understanding of how the battery functions, I think whenever I'm near an outlet I'll leave it plugged in. I was only charging it when the battery was low regardless of where (school, home, etc) I was at the time. When it hit 100%, I'd pull it off the charger. I'm in an old frame of mind I guess, where it was detrimental to keep electronics on the charger if the battery was full.

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Good plan. As I understand it, Macs have a better power management system than many PC notebooks; once the battery is fully charged, the power starts going straight from the charger to the logic board, rather than still being routed through (and so heating-up / wearing-out) the battery, as on some less-well designed machines. So you'll be fine always plugged-in.