Joined just to ask...

I see a 300 cycle battery so it is possible nothing is wrong here. The battery is worn out. Apple has made a decision to fit batteries with more cycles and more hours of run time so you should get years out of the battery Apple uses versus the year or so from what everyone else puts in.

This is caused by us. We asked for lower prices and got it.

The same issue with sturdiness. If I look at that Compaq Armada we have at the office it is a TANK compared to today's models. But then again it cost 4 times what we pay today.

I you want a tank, don't buy the consumer models but look at laptops like the Toughbook.

The Apple is a nice choice for the reasons given but we made these choices to get the price down.
Bob

There are definitely lots of choice sout there for new laptops, but Bob is right in that with your seemingly rough style of ownership, you might want to opt for something on the industrial side.

There are a ton of options out there and it comesn down to really finding the PC that meets your price and offers you the features you're looking for.

Windows just launched this new PC Scout tool that helps you by giving you the option of sliding bars and entering values to pick the laptops that fit your needs/wants. Give it a try, then actually go get your hands on the machines to make sure you're getting something you'll be happy with.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pc-scout/default.aspx

Cheers,
Ron

Down in the power management settings someone had set the alarm and shut off levels for the battery to 80 or so percent. Here's an overview of Windows's battery settings ->
"How can I change the low-battery level?

1. Open Power Options by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Power Options.
2. On the Select a power plan page, click Change plan settings under the selected plan.
3. On the Change settings for the plan page, click Change advanced power settings.
4. On the Advanced settings tab, expand Battery, expand Low battery level, click On battery, and then click the arrow to change the number to the percentage of battery charge at which you want to receive the low-battery notification.
5. Click OK, and then click Save changes.

When the battery charge reaches the critical battery level, Windows does what the critical battery action specifies. By default, the critical battery action is to put your mobile PC into hibernation. In this case, Windows saves your work to your hard disk so that it can be restored when the computer comes out of hibernation. To change the critical battery action, see Choose low and critical power levels for your battery."

More at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/Battery-meter-frequently-asked-questions

Thanks for telling about the 5 minutes when new. I wonder if some one tinkered in this area.
Bob

The guy who said tough PCs are kind of expensive was right...The cheap ones are just not made very well. As for Macs being extra tough, well it depends on what your going to do with it. If you mean "does the machine hold up well against scratches, cracks, and slight dents", then your going to have to look far and wide for something better than a Mac, because they are made with glass or aluminum (except the MacBook) rather than plastic and..well, plastic. But, if you mean, is it going to stand up to multiple drops onto a hard surface from several feet in the air, well, I doubt you'll find many computers at ALL that can take that without a serious problem coming up sooner or later. As for how long Macs last, well, I've mentioned in several other posts that I own a first generation iMac G3 from 1999 that's faster and can do more than my four year old Dell Inspiron.

Battery life is great on these things. I can go around two and a half days on one charge with my MacBook Pro 13", using the computer probably two+ hours per day. And it lasts around 4 hours when watching DVDs. Some people have complained about the batteries being non removable, seriously, how often do you need an extra battery when you can get nearly 7 hours of use from just one? And, when you need to get the battery replaced, it only costs $150 to take it to the Apple store and have a new one installed. It costs $180 for a new battery in my old Dell Inspiron.

What's more, you get a lot more than just a tough package and a good battery. There are lots of hardware features that are useful too, like backlit keyboards, multi touch trackpads, Firewire, auto screen dimming/keyboard illumination, webcam and mic for video chat, lots of function buttons on the keyboard, an ultra slim slot load dvd burner, etc...Very few of these things are available on a ultra light 13" laptop, and no competitors have all of them. Then there's the OS and all the built in programs too. Add all that to the 8+ year lifespan, slick yet tough design, and excellent battery, and I think you'll agree Macs are definitely worth the money.

anyway, that's the Mac side of the argument.

On the PC side, well, I guess PCs are cheaper...