Tech Tip of the Week

How many windows do you have open on your desktop right now? We've all been there, so many windows and apps open on your laptop that you can't find the one that you need.

Quickly jumping between applications on your Windows PC or Mac is simple. To scroll through your apps, hold down the Alt and Tab keys at the same time. Each time you press the keys, you will open another app. On the Mac, press the Command and Tab keys for the same function.

Keeping Your Laptop Battery Healthy

Battery Basics

Let's get technical for a moment.

Laptop batteries can handle a defined number of charge cycles, around 500, sometimes more. A charge cycle is one full discharge to 0% and then recharged back up to 100%.

Here’s the math.

If you discharge to 75%, then recharge back to 100%, you’ve used a quarter of a cycle. As your battery matures, each complete full cycle decreases your battery’s capacity.

Simply put, the fewer times you completely drain your battery, the longer it lasts. Makes sense.

So, why not just keep your laptop plugged in all the time? This isn't a good idea because it keeps your laptop hot. Heat diminishes battery life, makes your computer work harder and can cause physical damage to the laptop. A combination of operating your laptop using battery power alone for a while, then using your charging cable for a while, is best for the health of your battery.

Best practice? Start the day on battery power alone. Then, either plug in after a couple of hours or let your battery drain to about 20%, then fully charge.

Protect Your Battery

As mentioned above, the most important thing you can do to protect your laptop and your battery is to alternate between plugging in and not plugging in.

Here are some other tips that will help you preserve your laptop battery:

• Only use the laptop charger that came with your laptop.
  • Don’t use an off-brand charging cable.
  • Don’t use a similar charger that has the same type of port.
    • Remember, just because it has the same type of charging port doesn’t mean that It provides the current/voltage specific to your laptop.
• If you are unsure, call us. We’ll let you know if it’s the right one.
• When using your laptop at home, make sure there is an air pocket under your laptop. Without it, the laptop can overheat.
• Don’t place your laptop on a fabric ottoman as it can sink into the cushion and cover up the vents. Best to place a magazine or other hard surface between the laptop and the fabric.
• Do you keep your laptop in your lap? When it starts getting hot, it’s probably not getting the air pocket it needs. Switch positions to provide proper venting and unplug for a while.

Battery Friendly Settings

Your laptop battery is one of the most critical components of your laptop. It's important to protect it; here are some reminders about how you can ensure your battery remains healthy while providing you with a long service life.

• Turn the screen down. 70% is about right for rooms with lots of light. You can go down to 20% for dark rooms.
• Close the apps you aren’t using. You can always open them back up when you need them.
• Enable your battery saving mode. Look for it in Settings.
• Switch off Wi-Fi when you know you’re off the grid. Constant searching for signals wastes battery life.
• USB sticks and other connected devices such as portable hard drives can drain your battery. Disconnect them if you don’t need them.
• Select Hibernate instead of Sleep when you take a break.

Extra Credit

Your browser can be one of your biggest power drains, particularly if you keep lots of tabs open. Save your battery by closing all those open tabs.

Want a way to manage them? Put your favorites in bookmarks. It's an easy way to get to the websites you frequently use.

And be sure to close those open tabs when you finish.

Have any questions about tech at DUSON?

As always, if you have any technical questions or problems, please contact your IT Service Desk at 919-684-9200 or via email at SONIT-Support@duke.edu.