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Tom’s Tech Tips

Tom’s Tuesday Tech Tip: Do Fish Need Bicycles and Do Docked Laptops Need Their Batteries?

I’ve blogged about ways to extend the life of the battery in that laptop you’ve purchased for your legal nurse consulting business. I’ve also blogged about the need for every Certified Legal Nurse Consultant to have an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) on every computer and expensive electronic device in your home. I’ve even discussed the ways that a laptop dock can extend your workspace into multiple monitors and keep you from having to constantly plug and unplug peripheral equipment.

Today, I’m going to address a question that has no answer – should I keep my battery in my laptop when it’s in the dock? That’s an interesting question and I believe the non-answer depends on a couple of different variables. In the good old days (weren’t they all?) before Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, it was necessary to run older Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cad) batteries through full cycles, or close to full cycles, between charges. Constantly topping off a battery by charging it after every use degraded the battery’s life and reduced the time a legal nurse consultant could work off-site and on battery power.

Today, a combination of new technology and Lithium does more than make you feel good, it eliminates some of the need for battery “maintenance.” According to Dell, their newer batteries are designed to stop charging when they register full. This means that while your computer is docked, the battery is not charging. Dell also states that topping off and cycling are no longer issues. Apple takes a more conservative approach and recommends that you fully cycle your battery at least once a month and store it with a 50% charge if you’re not going to use if for six months (as if we could figure that out in advance).

So who’s right? I think both are. I leave one battery in my docked computer trusting it won’t get damaged by the heat and will be fully charged when I grab the laptop for an emergency run to Starbucks. I also try and fully discharge my battery on a regular basis, but will still top it off any chance I get while traveling. Finally, I agree with both Dell and Apple that the average laptop battery will last 18-24 months before requiring replacement.

Now, back to my original question, why leave a battery in the laptop? Well, if you don’t have a UPS and your electrical power fails while you’re writing a report for your CLNC® business’s most important attorney-client, your laptop will seamlessly switch back to the battery (if it’s in place) without a loss of work. If you don’t have a UPS and have removed the battery, your computer will black out just like the lights and your work will be lost.

If you have a UPS in place, it will continue to supply power to your electronics for some indeterminate period of time (depending upon the size of the UPS and the power drain). This is one situation where bigger truly is better – a bigger UPS will power your laptop and your dual monitors longer than a smaller one. If you are working with the battery in your laptop, you can pull the laptop’s power plug out of the UPS and the UPS will run just the monitors and the laptop will run on its battery until the power comes back on (if you don’t mind working in the dark where I usually am anyway).

What it comes down to is that a docked laptop with an installed battery and a UPS is like having two insurance policies. Just like insurance, hopefully you’ll never need it but when you do need it, you’ll be glad you have it for your legal nurse consulting business. A docked laptop without a battery and without a UPS is an accident waiting to happen. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of repounding that keyboard to try and recreate your work. So dock your laptop with the battery in place and keep a good battery in your UPS.

Keep on techin’ (even in the dark),

Tom

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*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.

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