Battery Life

[XxHyacinthexX]

I was just wondering about my laptop battery. Do I want to be sure it is fully dead before plugging it in? Or does it matter? Can I use the battery half way, than plug it in with no harm to the battery life? Thanks in advance.

(Note) My laptop is new, I bought it a few days ago, so it has a modern battery, just in case anyone is wondering.

 

[Yami]

Batteries now work on 'cycles' - the number of times the battery can be recharged, which is limited - anywhere between 300 and 2000 times depending on the quality of the battery. If you charge it when the battery level is halfway, then that's another cycle used. This means you've only gotten half the charge, but you've used up a full 'cycle', if you know what I mean. It technically doesn't damage the battery life, but it does mean the battery's life will be used up more quickly.

Keep in mind, I've used my netbook now for over a year without caring how long or when I charge it. I haven't had any problems.

Edit:During the quick bit of research I did for this post, I found that Macbooks have 80% charge after 300 charge cycles. This is less than a year's usage, assuming you use it fully every day...