In this special episode, learn to now stress about your MacBook or iOS device battery. It may not be worth it to expend a lot of time and stress to extend your battery's life by only a little bit.
Comments: 18 Responses to “MacMost Now 576: Don’t Stress About Batteries”
Phyllis S.
13 years ago
Wow! This was perfect. I do constantly stress about draining my iPhone and iPad batteries. This took care of it. No more battery stress. Now, if you could just take care of some other stressors! Also, thanks for the great vacation video.
I follow you on Twitter and Facebook and get your emails. I love your advice!
Phyllis
Antrim
13 years ago
Great episode. Love the silent interludes.
Jerry
13 years ago
Gary, thanks for backing me on this. My wife, who had been counseled by our otherwise brilliant son, had been always running on batteries till she couldn't anymore and then unplugging as soon as she saw it was charged. She happened to be right next to me when I played your video. She seems more relaxed now that it's not just me vs. our OCD son. ;-)
Rod
13 years ago
Sorry, Batteries? What?.......... I was enjoying the scenery behind you! Have a good vacation! :-)
Phil
13 years ago
Gary, now if you could only cure our other life-stresses as simply as this...
Russ
13 years ago
You have to bring your wife and kid(s) in the video :-)
Erica
13 years ago
HI Gary - Thanks for the advice and for sharing beautiful Maui. Love it. At last, I can return the favor and give you some advice: While you're there, go eat at Mama's Fish House and enjoy the local artists' cooperative gallery nearby.
Ed
13 years ago
Gary,
I think this video and the other ones in Hawaii were just filler videos to meet the status quo. Battery use causing stress, really??? If people get real stress from this, they really need to relook life's priorities. I can't wait till you get back in the studio and do the good hands on videos again. Hope you had a good vacation though and may God bless you and your family.
"meet the status quo"? Do you mean meet a quota?
Not sure why you would say that.
All three of these video ideas came from user questions. I keep track, you see. I've been asked about these three topics over and over again. And each time I can see the stress in the questions. So I came up with the idea to do a series on these.
The idea is that when I am asked the same thing over and over, create a video so instead of answering the question again, I can just point to the video.
I have a huge list of ideas for videos. Most are tutorials. But when I come up with some that are more "explanations" than tutorials, I save those for opportunities like times when I will have a good outdoor backdrop.
I'm sorry that you didn't like these videos. But I know I can't please everyone.
Ed
13 years ago
I just prefer the more professional video presentation in the studio Gary. You do that better then anyone else I have seen yet. So when I get the conversational ones I feel a little cheated (kind of like you half-assed it just to get a video up/just my personal opinion). Dude, enjoy your vacation, then address the issue in the studio. That is just my opinion and as always thanks for listening to the bitching. You are a champ. You always address issues in a very respectful way.
Half-assed? I'm sorry you feel that way. By the comments I've been getting I can see that these three videos have already been of value to many people. I knew they would be because I have been asked about them so many times. If you only like my tutorial videos, then just watch those. No need to watch every one.
Delmar Knudson
13 years ago
Most of enjoy this too (maybe your tightly woven dissertations from your studio just a tad more). Anyway, don't stress about it :-) Del from MacinTech.org
Selina
12 years ago
Gary, your videos are so informative and exceptional!
All of them!
Can't believe someone would leave a comment such as that about "filler videos". I was uncertain about battery usugae for my iPad and this cleared that concern for me totally.
Thank you for all of your efforts.
Greatly Appreciated.
Love the view from Maui! are you video taping using an iPhone? Great clarity! Stopping now.......lol!
The Videos are perfect, people stop complaining, these videos, specially the batteries were always a question for me...
tanx a lot Gary for the videos
Have Fun
Richard24
13 years ago
Well said again. Thanks Gary...you need to work for Apple.....we need you their..
Me
12 years ago
Well. If you have money to buy a MacBook Pro battery a year then DON'T STRESS ABOUT IT. That's around $150/year. If you want your battery to last more than a year, You'd better not plug it in all the time and you'd better "condition" it AT LEAST once a month. When I first bought my MacBook Pro, I carefully did all that and I didn't have to buy a new battery for almost 3 years. Then I thought I overdid it and also I probably grew tired of watching my battery all the time. So I left my new battery plugged in all the time and calibrate it once in a very long while. The result? The new battery WENT KAPUT in just a lil over a year. I just bought another battery and now I'm back to carefully not letting plugged in all the time and letting it run down completely every chance I got. So, If you have money to throw away on 2, 3 MacBook Pro batteries every year, don't stress about it. But if you don't have money to do so, YOU'D BETTER BE!
I just want to point out that keeping your MacBook plugged in does not wear on the battery. Your MacBook is smart enough to know that it shouldn't damage the battery just by being plugged in. I believe that your second battery didn't last as long (results always vary) but I'm sure it had nothing to do with keeping it plugged in. In fact, only plugging it in to charge it, and then running it off the battery (extra cycles) when you don't need to, should lead toward shorter battery life, not longer.
Wow! This was perfect. I do constantly stress about draining my iPhone and iPad batteries. This took care of it. No more battery stress. Now, if you could just take care of some other stressors! Also, thanks for the great vacation video.
I follow you on Twitter and Facebook and get your emails. I love your advice!
Phyllis
Great episode. Love the silent interludes.
Gary, thanks for backing me on this. My wife, who had been counseled by our otherwise brilliant son, had been always running on batteries till she couldn't anymore and then unplugging as soon as she saw it was charged. She happened to be right next to me when I played your video. She seems more relaxed now that it's not just me vs. our OCD son. ;-)
Sorry, Batteries? What?.......... I was enjoying the scenery behind you! Have a good vacation! :-)
Gary, now if you could only cure our other life-stresses as simply as this...
You have to bring your wife and kid(s) in the video :-)
HI Gary - Thanks for the advice and for sharing beautiful Maui. Love it. At last, I can return the favor and give you some advice: While you're there, go eat at Mama's Fish House and enjoy the local artists' cooperative gallery nearby.
Gary,
I think this video and the other ones in Hawaii were just filler videos to meet the status quo. Battery use causing stress, really??? If people get real stress from this, they really need to relook life's priorities. I can't wait till you get back in the studio and do the good hands on videos again. Hope you had a good vacation though and may God bless you and your family.
"meet the status quo"? Do you mean meet a quota?
Not sure why you would say that.
All three of these video ideas came from user questions. I keep track, you see. I've been asked about these three topics over and over again. And each time I can see the stress in the questions. So I came up with the idea to do a series on these.
The idea is that when I am asked the same thing over and over, create a video so instead of answering the question again, I can just point to the video.
I have a huge list of ideas for videos. Most are tutorials. But when I come up with some that are more "explanations" than tutorials, I save those for opportunities like times when I will have a good outdoor backdrop.
I'm sorry that you didn't like these videos. But I know I can't please everyone.
I just prefer the more professional video presentation in the studio Gary. You do that better then anyone else I have seen yet. So when I get the conversational ones I feel a little cheated (kind of like you half-assed it just to get a video up/just my personal opinion). Dude, enjoy your vacation, then address the issue in the studio. That is just my opinion and as always thanks for listening to the bitching. You are a champ. You always address issues in a very respectful way.
Ed
Half-assed? I'm sorry you feel that way. By the comments I've been getting I can see that these three videos have already been of value to many people. I knew they would be because I have been asked about them so many times. If you only like my tutorial videos, then just watch those. No need to watch every one.
Most of enjoy this too (maybe your tightly woven dissertations from your studio just a tad more). Anyway, don't stress about it :-) Del from MacinTech.org
Gary, your videos are so informative and exceptional!
All of them!
Can't believe someone would leave a comment such as that about "filler videos". I was uncertain about battery usugae for my iPad and this cleared that concern for me totally.
Thank you for all of your efforts.
Greatly Appreciated.
Love the view from Maui! are you video taping using an iPhone? Great clarity! Stopping now.......lol!
Yep. Shot that on an iPhone.
The Videos are perfect, people stop complaining, these videos, specially the batteries were always a question for me...
tanx a lot Gary for the videos
Have Fun
Well said again. Thanks Gary...you need to work for Apple.....we need you their..
Well. If you have money to buy a MacBook Pro battery a year then DON'T STRESS ABOUT IT. That's around $150/year. If you want your battery to last more than a year, You'd better not plug it in all the time and you'd better "condition" it AT LEAST once a month. When I first bought my MacBook Pro, I carefully did all that and I didn't have to buy a new battery for almost 3 years. Then I thought I overdid it and also I probably grew tired of watching my battery all the time. So I left my new battery plugged in all the time and calibrate it once in a very long while. The result? The new battery WENT KAPUT in just a lil over a year. I just bought another battery and now I'm back to carefully not letting plugged in all the time and letting it run down completely every chance I got. So, If you have money to throw away on 2, 3 MacBook Pro batteries every year, don't stress about it. But if you don't have money to do so, YOU'D BETTER BE!
I just want to point out that keeping your MacBook plugged in does not wear on the battery. Your MacBook is smart enough to know that it shouldn't damage the battery just by being plugged in. I believe that your second battery didn't last as long (results always vary) but I'm sure it had nothing to do with keeping it plugged in. In fact, only plugging it in to charge it, and then running it off the battery (extra cycles) when you don't need to, should lead toward shorter battery life, not longer.