Ezra Klein: Sad Observation of the Day

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August 03, 2007

Sad Observation of the Day

You know, laptop batteries just don't last very long.

August 3, 2007 | Permalink

Comments

Wouldn't it be prudent, as a blogger, to have one or two pre-charged backup batteries for events like these? They're not so heavy.

Posted by: sangfroid826 | Aug 3, 2007 5:10:50 PM

Turn off Bluetooth and Airport if you're not using them at the moment, they're both battery hogs from my experience and they turn back on quick and easy when you need them.

Posted by: tom.a | Aug 3, 2007 5:24:19 PM

What's long? I have a Toshiba which gives me a solid four hours.

Posted by: Jason G. | Aug 3, 2007 5:31:04 PM

You realize you risk starting a thread of comparisons of battery life?

Turning off unnecessary devices and other energy-saving settings are a good idea. (And setting the screen brightness to the lowest setting--too obvious?)

Posted by: Sanpete | Aug 3, 2007 5:32:20 PM

I've never got a huge gain from the 'better battery life' setting in OS X compared to the default battery option, but nixing Bluetooth and reducing the screen brightness -- I'm guessing that losing WiFi is a non-starter -- should help you eke out a few extra minutes.

The main task in conventions is to seek out the power outlets -- or the keeper of the power extension, even if it pisses off the sparkies -- as wildebeest seek waterholes. Also, short breaks are not times to socialise: they are times to recharge.

Posted by: pseudonymous in nc | Aug 3, 2007 5:37:50 PM

Are you using the shiny new MacBook you ordered from Amazon for $1224? If so, you should be able to get about 3 hours of use from one charge.

Posted by: MarkT | Aug 3, 2007 6:17:40 PM

I thought that Mac batteries recharged themselves from the intense fields of smug hipsterism surrounding their users.

Or it could just be all the silly gewgaws that every Mac has, like backlit logos and little webcams and that sultry voice crooning "you're better than they are" over and over while you're using it.

Posted by: Stephen | Aug 3, 2007 6:29:42 PM

I got a new laptop recently and spent some time figuring out how long the battery lasts under different circumstances. With wifi on and the screen fairly dim, I can get a good 4 hours if I'm just using Firefox to read blogs, and a word processor. But putting on a Youtube video did the job when I wanted to drain that last 20% quickly.

Posted by: Apsalar | Aug 3, 2007 6:53:19 PM

Yeah, but I can't transport my 300 lbs of desktop as carry-on luggage to Chicago.

(You may think I'm kidding...subwoofers, dude. I can't surf or comment w/o my subwoofers. And that 15 incher is heavy.)

Posted by: bob mcmanus | Aug 3, 2007 7:09:35 PM

I'm surprised to hear that MacBooks need batteries at all. I thought the noble pure goodness of Apple products functioned as an unlimited energy source.

Suggestion: retire to your hotel room and forget the partytime while you recharge the Mac. Chicago has nothing to offer for DC-beltway-insiders anyway - there are no lobbyists to pick up the check, and Georgetown pubs are a long way away.

Posted by: JimPortlandOR | Aug 3, 2007 8:34:49 PM

Chicago has nothing to offer for DC-beltway-insiders anyway

Jim, what are you talking about? There's cabbies, there's corn-fed American Heartlanders who are sick of partisanship, Values Voters who want us to win the War on Muslamofasciterrorism and who know that the only way to do so is to clap your hands! people - why, there's no end to the delights that await a DC pundit ~~on safari~~ ~~slumming with the local yokels~~ getting in touch with America's Moral Compass.

Posted by: Stephen | Aug 3, 2007 8:56:24 PM

But Ez -- to be fair, there are lots of places at McCormick where you can plug in your laptop and power it up. There are outlets in all the meeting rooms, for example -- just not many, unfortunately.

I will say one thing, and that is that McCormick sucks ass as a conference space. It's huge, cavernous, and alienating. Your average 1950s-style airport hangar has infinitely more warmth, charm, and intimacy. Plus, it's inefficient as hell! I mean, any place where you have to walk 20 minutes from the main area to get a cup of coffee loses me from the word "go."

And what is up with all the signs that point to facilities -- like a coat check (don't have a coat, but would love to check my bag), shops, a hotel restaurant -- that, it turns out, don't actually exist?

Not to mention that the food sucks, is absurdly overpriced, and is difficult to access (because what little there is, is generally at least a 15-minute walk away from where you are). Plus, the entire complex is all off by itself in the middle of nowhere. And it's not like a decent restaurant is a hot, skip, and a jump away, either -- McCormick is in a crummy neighborhood and even getting to a crappy restaurant in the vicinity takes some doing.

As a Chicago resident, lemmee tell you, there are easily half a dozen Chitown places that would have been far better choices for this conference. The Marriott downtown is easily accessible and was a perfect space for the AEA conference earlier this year. The Palm House is another space that is lovely, easy to get to, and has all mod cons. Even the ultra-theme-parky Navy Pier would be a big step up from this dump.

Sorry, but I'm a proud Chicagoan and I'm ashamed that my city is being shown off to such disadvantage.

Well, what can you expect from a conference whose program lists the panels by title, not time and day? And doesn't even have one decent panel on economic policy?

I devoutly wish that the next Kos conference is much more professionally done.

Posted by: Kathy G. | Aug 4, 2007 12:30:02 AM

Beauchamp just got pwned btw. Now changing his story after army investigation revealed claims to be false. Egg on face. Lap it up.

Better luck next time.

Posted by: lol? | Aug 4, 2007 12:31:20 AM

You all must be a bunch of young people. The only problem that I have with the lowest screen brightness is that I can't read doodley-squat with it. Enjoy it while it lasts, because soon you will be resisting the lure of those special glasses.

Posted by: J Bean | Aug 4, 2007 1:07:50 AM

I think we have run into some kind of fundamental limit to battery power.

Consider this: the average notebook battery lifespan in 1996 is the SAME as the average notebook battery lifespan in 2007.

Thats insane, when you consider the enormous improvements in microchips and hard disk storage, and memory that have happened in that 11 year span.

My only conclusion to this is that the notebook makers must have confronted some kind of fundamental brick wall beyond which they dont know how to penetrate. Even if you turn off all the extra gizmos the battery life is the same as it was in 96.

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