CubaTBird said:
Do most of you mac users who either have a ibook or powerbook keep the battery in the unit even when its plugged into the wall outlet? Would it be best to take the battery out when used at home? Or does it make no difference at all whether you leave it in or not?
The battery only charges while its plugged in, if it falls below 95%. In general, its best to discharge the battery pretty much completely and recharge it completely. So basically, its fine to leave the battery in the computer all the time. If you unplug it for whatever reason and it stays above 95%, go ahead and plug it back in. If it goes below 95%, you might want to leave it unplugged and use it that way until it gets relatively low, and then plug it back in.
Or you can plug it back in right away, but sometimes there is a slight memory effect -- if you do this several times, when you finally go to use the battery, it will claim 99% charge but will last for a much shorter time than you expect. This is much reduced with modern Li-Ion batteries but it still occurs a little.