Silly MacBook battery questions

[cleanup]

Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 5216
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 5177
Amperage (mA): -1412
Voltage (mV): 12375
Cycle Count: 10

I've only had it about 3 weeks. Is the drop in capacity normal?

Should I not leave it plugged in? I know that batteries tend to give out rather quickly if you leave it plugged in all the time. Should I only charge when I need to?

Thanks.

 

[Aniej]

interestingly, apple actually lists as one of its recommendations for prolonging the life of a battery to leave it plugged in rather than running it down.

 

[deadpixels]

are you using CoconutBattery? if not you should so you can monitor you battery health. by your number it seems you have 99% health, a bit of reading and you would'v find out that there is countless threads about the same thing.
your battery health will vary so no need to worry about it.
you can use it plugged and do a full discharge once a month if you like to.
your battery will deplete with time no matter what you do.

 

[Aniej]

you can use it plugged and do a full discharge once a month if you like to.
your battery will deplete with time no matter what you do.

Can you point me to where Apple or another trusted source says "do a full cycle/discharge on the battery"? I am about to take a look now, but from what I recall, Apple said this should not be done and was only appropriate for older batteries, but I am going to double check.

 

[deadpixels]

Can you point me to where Apple or another trusted source says "do a full cycle/discharge on the battery"? I am about to take a look now, but from what I recall, Apple said this should not be done and was only appropriate for older batteries, but I am going to double check.

here

For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time. An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her MacBook Pro on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing. If on the other hand, you use a desktop computer at work, and save a notebook for infrequent travel, Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month.