Laptop computers are great portable offices, and as technology increases and speeds of computers increase, we are seeing battery life also increase and provide longer usage time with out the need to be "plugged in."
But occasionally, as business travelers, who need to be plugged in, it can be hard to find an outlet and one may be stranded to only use the internal juice in your computer.
Most laptop batteries last about 2 hours on a full charge, but I found a couple of creative ways to turn those 2 hours into 3 or even 4 hours of pure usage time, with out having to buy more gadgets to fill up or weigh down my briefcase.
Here are two really simple things you can do, to prolong your power on your laptop and get more usage out of your charge.
1. Turn off your wireless transmitter
When you are using your laptop with your wireless transmitter, it is always looking for a signal. So by disabling it, in an area where you cannot get any internet access via wireless, it will actually conserve your battery life.
2. Lower Your Screen Contrast
Most people don't think about this one.
But if you usually have your laptop monitor set at the highest and brightest contrast, your computer is working the hardest.
If you simply lower your contrast in half to make it less brighter, you will find you can still see the interfaces on your computer very well.
By doing this in a bright area, you may have trouble if your bightness "whites out" too much.
But in a dark airplane for example, lowering your contrast and brightness in half can actually make it easier to see your screen and make it less bright and even more enjoyable for your passenger sitting next to you, to not have a bright laptop light shining in their face.
Using these two simple powersavers can possible let your laptop power cycle jump from 2 hours to 3 or even 4 hours.
