Increase Laptop Runtime

Low battery life is, besides overheating, one of the most annoying things of high end laptops. If you buy a 17" Laptop, you usually end up regretting it once you hit the road. Nearly every middle class latop with such a big screen has one big minus: the uptime. The battery usually ends at the 2 hour mark, and you have to look for a power supply afterwards, or buy a better computer from the start, which is probably out of our budget. So what can we do, if we don't have the money to buy an overly expensive latop with a super battery? We can get ourself an external power supply via USB. Those things are great. There are different types, ranging from the size of a big mp3 player, such as an ipod to pads that have the size of your notebook.

I loved my 17" Laptop, but I was so pissed as it only lasted 2 hours once I was on the road, and especially if you want to go outside when the weather is nice, you are seriously handicapped.

That's why I got myself an external power supply. It gives my laptop a few extra hours, even though I have to carry more weight, which I don't care too much about. I want a bit of more flexiblity so I can enjoy the spring and summer, while I write on a park bench. Probably a 15" laptop would be better for this, or maybe a netbook, but still I am more productive with the extra pixels on my screen than I would be on a small netbook.

So at the end of the day you always have to decide what is important: Horsepower or endurance? Low weight? If you don't want to carry around heavy equipment get a smaller notebook, if you don't mind, simply get some extra batteries that will increase your runtime by the hours.