System 7 or greater. About 30k free memory & the PowerBook's built-in PowerManager software. It has only been tested on a Duo 230 running System 7.1 but I haven't used any undocumented features so everything should work on the Portable / PowerBook 100 (running System 7) on up.
What does it cost?
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Nothing. If you like it, drop me an e-mail message (Randall Voth c/o hvoth@cln.etc.bc.ca). If you would like something changed, I am most appreciative of suggestions.
What does BatteryMinder do?
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1) If "Auto Toggle AppleTalk" is set in the Preferences, BatteryMinder will turn Appletalk off when run and turn it back on when quit. If an alias of BatteryMinder is placed in the Startup Items folder, this ensures that Appletalk is loaded when the computer starts up. If you never use Appletalk, toggle this feature off.
2) Appletalk and Sound can be turned on and off with a click in the program window on the appropriate buttons. This can also be accomplished via the File menu. The Sound toggle turns it on to a volume level of three. This is where I like it and for reasons of simplicity hard coded it. Of course, you could always use the Sound control panel if you don't like this…
3) A battery gauge that displays the battery power value (not volts or watts — just a number) returned by the System. This is the number to be noted by the user and used to help the computer estimate battery life (see 4). An icon displays whether the computer is charging or not as in Apple's Battery control panel. The hare or tortoise icon tells you whether or not "Reduced Processor Speed" has been chosen in the PowerBook control panel.
4) When unplugged, BatteryMinder shows the number of elapsed minutes either from first run or when unplugged. The second number is a battery life estimation based on the three numbers you must enter in the preferences dialog after experimenting with the program on your computer: IN THE PREFERENCES DIALOG, SET THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR COMPUTER:
—Full Power Reading—set this to the power reading after a full charge.
—Empty Power Reading—set this to the power reading of the first battery warning.
—Battery Estimate Minutes—set this to what you normally get for battery life in minutes.
—the settings in BatteryMinder as downloaded are for my Duo 230. YOURS SHOULD VARY. See second paragraph in Notes & Caveats section for more detailed instructions on how to customize BatteryMinder for your own use.
5) System Sleep can be initiated from the menu or by double-clicking on the program window. (Not on the buttons, of course, but the bunny won't complain…) This feature employs System 7's AppleEvents that are sent to the Finder, so if you have quit the Finder to increase available memory via devious trickery, it won't work. In this scenario try closing the computer's lid.
Notes & Caveats
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Putting an alias of BatteryMinder (or BatteryMinder itself) into the Startup Items folder that is located in the System Folder makes the best use of the toggling Appletalk feature.
To set up the battery estimation feature for your own personal use, run BatteryMinder after an overnight charge. Note the Power value in the gas gauge and type the value into the "Full Power Reading" box in BatteryMinder's Preferences dialog. If the Power value typically drops a lot after starting to use the computer and then levels out, type the leveled out value into the "Full Power Reading" instead of the artificial high after a charge. Use your PowerBook until the first warning to plug it back in. Note the Power value in the gas gauge and type the value into the "Empty Power Reading" box of the Preferences dialog. Also note the number of minutes that BatteryMinder shows you got on the charge and type that number into the "Battery Estimate Minutes" box of the Preferences dialog. Tweak the values as you find necessary and you should find the gauge to be accurate enough.
BatteryMinder modifies its resource fork when you set the preferences or change the window location. Therefore, you can't run it from a read only device, such as a CD ROM.
I have noticed an incompatibility with SingleShare, a shareware program that allows System 6 sharing of files, similar to System 7. If a volume is mounted from another fileserver and Appletalk is subsequently turned off with either the Chooser or BatteryMinder, Finder will crash. The solution is to unmount the volume by dragging it to the trash BEFORE turning off Appletalk. Apple's filesharing (System 7 or AppleShare) has no problem and the volumes are unmounted automatically when Appletalk is toggled off with BatteryMinder as they are with the Chooser. If you notice any problems with filesharing systems not mentioned, check first to see if the Chooser is also affected. If it is, then BatteryMinder is not the problem.
Why is this program free? Have you heard of anyone making a living at shareware? Truth is that I wrote it for myself, not for profit. I also wanted to learn how to write a program once and for all, something I've wanted to do for a long time. If you like this program, look for the series of novels I'm working on someday in the fantasy section of your bookstore. Who knows, I might even publish the innovative three dimensional outliner I'm developing that makes novel writing a breeze…
I assume no responsibility for this program in any way or what happens during its use. Use it at your own risk. It has been reliable for me and works as advertised. Enjoy it and I look forward to hearing via e-mail from those who find it useful.
Version History
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1.0 - Original version downloaded to Sumex-aim at Stanford.
1.1 - Better, more informative handling of Appletalk being in use. Thanks to Steve Ashcroft for bringing up the problem.
1.1.1 - Fixed a bug introduced in v1.1 that had BatteyMinder thinking Appletalk was in use (and annoyingly told you so!) if Appletalk was off at startup but AutoToggle was chosen in the Preferences.
