Brand new Macbook best way to use??

[jeb1]

Hi Guys and gals,
So i have jumped on board and come from windows to mac after much consideration and drooling over the macbooks on the apple website. I have gone for the new unibody 2.66ghz with the now built in battery. I have scoured much of this forum and picked up loads of helpful hints and tips and the best apps to install.
I do however have one major question that is worrying me. Obviously having spent a lot of money and with the battery being built in i want it to last as long as possible. So what is the best way to use the macbook? I have been letting it charge to full and then unplug it and let it drop right back down again before plugging it back in. Is this the right thing to do or should i just plug it in all the time? I have read that some who have left them plugged in all the time have ruined the battery but this is now a new type of battery so will it effect it in the same way?
I know there are threads on batteries already but none on the new battery and the best way to run it.
Also is it that viruses cant run on the mac or just that people don't bother cause there are more windows users. If the later is the case is it not a good idea to get some anti virus.
Many thanks to those who get back to me.

 

[maflynn]

First off, just do what apple recommends, and that's calibrate the battery, after that I'd avoid any deep drains on the battery.

You also really don't need to worry about viruses, that's a windows thing To that point you probably don't need antivirus software. There's a train of thought that people have regarding macs and viruses. Some say you should still have the software just in case, others state there's no need. I don't have any antivirus software on my mac and I'm not worried.

congrats on your new baby and enjoy

 

[kolax]

I wouldn't over worry about your battery. Just concentrate on using your Mac. If you want to run it off battery do it. If you are next to a powerpoint, run it off mains.

One thing you do want to do every 2-4 weeks is a full charge then discharge of the battery.

 

[ian.maffett]

Right... don't focus too much on it or you'll see it diminish whether it does or not. LoL. Just use it as you would expect to use it - leave it plugged in when available and run on battery when needed. There is a line in the sand with both because as you mentioned, leaving it powered at all times is not good but the battery only has so many cycles in it.
As a new Mac user, check out http://www.iusethis.com for some software to play with and for your battery take a look at CoconutBattery. It'll tell you the health of your cell.

http://osx.iusethis.com/app/coconutbattery

Oh, and in case your heart is set on AV you can use ClamXav - I equate it to AVG (or as close as you'll get on Mac). Although it really won't do much it can make you feel better.

http://osx.iusethis.com/app/clamxav

 

[jeb1]

Thanks for your help guys

 

[Maxpilot]

Here is a good source for how to best use your battery.
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/

Basically it is ok to just top off a lithium-ion. It is bad to discharge lithium-ion batteries too deep (that's why you should only calibrate once every 3 months or so).

Regarding anti-virus... I think you should get it. I use Sophos. On my daughters MacBook Pro, Sophos has found several trojan horse viruses in some MP3 files. I don't think the viruses did any damage, but if you transfer those files to another computer it might. The Trojan viruses can get into your out-going emails and infect your email recipients’ computer (your boss would really love you for that ).