Are two batteries really an option?

[titaniumducky]

Accually... as a matter of fact. One night I was bored so I opened up my brand new 17" PB. What I'm saying is that maby they could make another model that was slightly thicker, however had a removable bay. It would only be one a 15" and the 17"

You know you just voided the warranty the comes with your PowerBook, right?

If it was brand new, you had almost a year left. And you threw it (the warranty) away... Smart.

 

[Kingsnapped]

Why don't you actually go to the school and see how your power works out before you invest in another battery. The general agreement here is that laptop battery life is fine. You might be wasting a lot of money for no reason if it turns out you never have to switch. I say you hold out and carry the tiny little power brick around for a week or two before you make any purchaces.

 

[mactastic]

Here's another possible solution.... Buy a Palm Pilot and one of those keyboards for it. Those can easily go for 8 to 10 hours between charges even when it's powering the keyboard. That's the solution my wife used for over a year to take notes in class. There's no problems with having to switch batteries at an inopportune moment, nor will you have to arrive at class early to be sure you get a seat near a power outlet. If all you are doing is taking notes, it works quite well. You don't even need all that great of a PP, you could probably get a IIIc and a keyboard on eBay for about the same price as that extra battery will cost you. Heck my wife might even be willing to sell hers off now that she's done with school (and has an iBook of her own now).

 

[reaper]

Why don't you actually go to the school and see how your power works out before you invest in another battery. The general agreement here is that laptop battery life is fine. You might be wasting a lot of money for no reason if it turns out you never have to switch. I say you hold out and carry the tiny little power brick around for a week or two before you make any purchaces.

That does sound like a good idea (especially since it saves me some cash). Yeah, with all of the experiences out there, it does seem that one battery may in fact be enough, and you're right, I can always buy another one. Cool, now I just have to decide which one to get - the 17" or 15". Hmmm.

- reaper

PS Thanks for all the advice everyone!

 

[reaper]

Here's another possible solution.... Buy a Palm Pilot and one of those keyboards for it. Those can easily go for 8 to 10 hours between charges even when it's powering the keyboard. That's the solution my wife used for over a year to take notes in class. There's no problems with having to switch batteries at an inopportune moment, nor will you have to arrive at class early to be sure you get a seat near a power outlet. If all you are doing is taking notes, it works quite well. You don't even need all that great of a PP, you could probably get a IIIc and a keyboard on eBay for about the same price as that extra battery will cost you. Heck my wife might even be willing to sell hers off now that she's done with school (and has an iBook of her own now).

That was actually something I have already looked into, and have found that the keyboards are too small, and I have a hard time reading the text. Also, I like the added functionality of easy text manipulation with a mouse so that I can reorganize outlines and things during class on the fly depending on how the discussion goes.

- reaper

 

[mactastic]

That was actually something I have already looked into, and have found that the keyboards are too small, and I have a hard time reading the text. Also, I like the added functionality of easy text manipulation with a mouse so that I can reorganize outlines and things during class on the fly depending on how the discussion goes.

- reaper

The keyboard my wife had was full size... admittedly not much more than full size, but it's no worse than a laptop keyboard, and it folds up into a case the same size as the case for the PP. And there's not much easier navigation than using your finger to tap the screen. My wife actually still tries to touch the screen on her iBook by mistake sometimes and is frustrated that the cursor won't just move there!

Not that I'm pushing it, I just wanted to mention it in case you hadn't thought of it.

 

[mms]

pismo! you could have 2 batteries, but then no cd drive. im not 100% sure about being able to have 2 batteries in the bays at the same time, but im pretty sure of it. gotta love pismo

Yeah, it can have two batteries at once. Same with the Lombard, and I believe the WallStreet models as well (making it all G3 PowerBooks but the original Kanga with removable ports. However, I believe that this made the construction weaker, one of the reasons that Apple discontinued it.

 

[reaper]

The keyboard my wife had was full size... admittedly not much more than full size, but it's no worse than a laptop keyboard, and it folds up into a case the same size as the case for the PP. And there's not much easier navigation than using your finger to tap the screen. My wife actually still tries to touch the screen on her iBook by mistake sometimes and is frustrated that the cursor won't just move there!

Not that I'm pushing it, I just wanted to mention it in case you hadn't thought of it.

Maybe I was looking at the wrong keyboards... didn't know they came in the same size as laptop keyboards - although the outlining part still may be a deal breaker. I will definitely look into it though. Thanks.

- reaper