posted by rick on October 15th, 2007 at 7:49PM
I thought how you use the battery can affect how long it stays useful. It seems to be some combination of:
*It is /bad/ (or good? I've heard both ...) to fully discharge the battery frequently.
*But it is /good/ to fully discharge once a month.
*It is /bad/ to keep the battery fully charged in high temperatures. So if it's going to be plugged in for a while, remove the battery.
*Batteries have a limited charge cycle so after a while it will deteriorate no matter what you do.