I carry my laptop to and from work every day. Probably 90% of the time I am plugged in and using a full-sized keyboard. When on the road, however, I use a much different technique. Here are some thoughts for those using Windows 7 and who want to manage power effectively and extend battery charge. To shut down (turn off entirely) or to go into sleep mode, just press the Windows key. Then, immediately, press left arrow followed by right arrow. That maneuver puts you into a list of commands. Use up and down arrows to make your selection. One will be "Shut Down." Another will be "Sleep." One of my partners never uses anything other than sleep. I think applications, if left running, tend to leak memory, meaning that over time the hog more resources and make your system less responsive. Thus, a shut down is highly recommended. As I mentioned, when I'm just going back and forth to the office, I leave my computer set to "high performance," meaning that the laptop never goes dormant. The screen shuts off after 15 minutes of inactivity, and I have to press control plus alt plus delete to start -- followed by my password. When on the road, I switch to power saving mode. It is really easy to switch back and forth, and these settings make a huge difference. By hitting Windows key plus X, you are put in the so-called Mobility Center. I find that lots of people (blind and sighted) don't know about this. In this area, simply by hitting tab, you are presented with a range of options, check boxes and sliders. The first is screen brightness. I keep mine at 20 something percent. You can go as low as 6%. By default, it is set much, much higher. With speech, that much brightness is not necessary. Sighted people can still see the screen, but it might be annoying for prolonged use. You can set the volume of the sound system, turn on and off Blue Tooth and WIFI, and most importantly, change power settings. If I'm on a flight of longer than 4 hours, I turn down brightness, turn off WIFI, and turn off Blue Tooth. They are useless in flight. I set battery to "power saver" mode. These techniques get me increased battery life of 50% In other words, instead of 3 hours, I get well over 4 hours In "high performance," I cannot get more than 2.5 hours, especially with the screen at the factory default setting. Just make the settings and hit escape. There is no need to save. It is really, really easy and quite convenient. Of course, in power saver mode, the computer will go to sleep earlier and more frequently, but that's fine so long as you know why your computer is behaving the way it does.
I. Edward Marquette Direct Dial: 816.502.4646 Mobile: 816.812.0088 Google Voice: 408.692.5640 Facsimile: 816.960.0041 Kutak Rock LLP 1010 Grand Boulevard Suite 500 Kansas City, MO 64106 [email protected] ############################################################################################################# ANY FEDERAL TAX ADVICE CONTAINED IN THIS MESSAGE SHOULD NOT BE USED OR REFERRED TO IN THE PROMOTING, MARKETING OR RECOMMENDING OF ANY ENTITY, INVESTMENT PLAN OR ARRANGEMENT, AND SUCH ADVICE IS NOT INTENDED OR WRITTEN TO BE USED, AND CANNOT BE USED, BY A TAXPAYER FOR THE PURPOSE OF AVOIDING PENALTIES UNDER THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE. ############################################################################################################# This E-mail message is confidential, is intended only for the named recipient(s) above and may contain information that is privileged, attorney work product or otherwise protected by applicable law. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender at 402-346-6000 and delete this E-mail message. Thank you. ############################################################################################################# For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/
