b's dashboard

I dunno man, I didn't even test my battery for the longest time... and now I'm finding out it's basically junk. Shouldn't a 9-cell battery advertised for 7 hrs at least give me 70 min just 12 months after purchase? (Most of the time this laptop has just been plugged in sitting on a desk) I'm quite upset... at least the battery is not starting a fire! - http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/pr...

I've had the same issue too... my 1-year warranty just ran out (in mid June 2008... don't know what the battery life coverage was) and I've normally had my laptop plugged in at my desk. I even got the big ugly more-expensive 9-cell battery too... because I wanted to be able to play _at_least_ a full-length DVD while traveling! Now, when I finally decide to leave my desk and surf the net in the living room with my friends as I watch TV... I need to run for a power cable almost immediately!

When I unplug the power cord, the battery icon says I have about 3 hrs left.
Within 15 minutes, it says I now have 2 hrs left.
Just 40 min later, the urgent warning comes on: 7% remaining 10 min left.
In about 3 min, the system immediately goes to sleep.