New MBP 15" and battery issue

Hi everyone,
I'm a first-time mac owner, and of course I'm pretty impressed with my new machine.
There is a big issue though, and given that I've spent all that money mainly for the outstandings records of the new MBP battery life (8-9 hours), I'm pretty concerned and want to hear your opinion.
My new MBP 15" battery does not last for more than 3:30hrs roughly. I did the calibration after the first cycle, and seems to me that things got worse. Please also note that I did download all the software and firmware updates as they're available from the utility, even though i do remember that with the new machines they're not recommmended...Even weirder, the battery indicator goes absolutely crazy, displaying for instance at one moment 3 hrs left, and the moment after 1.50 minutes left...so I'm asking you, is there any trustable programme that measures the battery life effectively?

also, please consider that I'm not doing anything special to get that short battery lenght...surfing the net, itunes, skype, etc...the only thing is, I'm currently using an internet HDSPA key to surf the internet with wi-fi off....might be that the problem? i hope not...)

thanks in advance
regards
paolo

thanks a lot for your reply, and sorry if I have done something wrong opening this 3d. I'm now wondering, after a quick survey, if it could be something with the notorious mds process, especially because seems that it can go crazy with 3 internet keys...I'll let you know

spinnerlys said:

The battery indicator can also show the percentage left on the battery, which is more accurate and doesn't fluctuate.

Btw, look at Activity Monitor to see what kind of process hogs up your CPU, and don't forget to select to SHOW ALL PROCESSES and sort by CPU.

Btw 2, the UMTS/HDSPA UBS stick most likely uses a lot of CPU or causes the mds (Spotlight) process to run amok. Again, look at Activity Monitor.

Btw 3, the battery indicator fluctuates due to the CPU use fluctuating.

Btw 4, MRoogle would have told you this several dozen times.


Also have a look at the following links, as the information presented there might be helpful in your future endeavours into Mac OS X and could clear up initial confusion and may even prevent harm to your system or your files.

Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts

Mac Beginner's Guide

Finding Mac Software

List of Mac Software

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