• A PowerBook, System 7 or greater and about 30k free memory. I have tested BatteryMinder only on a Duo 230 with System 7.1 but it was designed to run on a minimum of a Portable or PowerBook 100 running at least System 7.
• I have heard from people who have used it on a Portable, Powerbooks 100, 145b, 165, 170 and 180, so launch BatteryMinder with confidence.
• DUO USERS PLEASE NOTE: I have had problems with the Duo Enabler 2.0 with systems less than 7.1.1. These problems occur after waking from sleep and are not the fault of BatteryMinder. Please do not use Duo Enabler 2.0 with Duos other than the 280 series unless you are sure the system you are using is entirely compatible. Duo Enabler 1.0 is still the recommended version (as of June '94) to be using with the 210 thru 270.
What does it cost?
• Nothing. (That's zero American dollars — even less in Canadian funds!) If you find it useful, drop me an e-mail message (Randall Voth c/o hvoth@cln.etc.bc.ca). Be sure to tell me what PowerBook you are using so I can keep tabs of how compatible it is. If you would like something changed, I am most appreciative of suggestions.
What does BatteryMinder do?
1) Can force Appletalk to load at startup while maintaining Appletalk's last setting.
2) Can toggle sound OFF when quit so that restarting will be silent. Great for meetings, libraries and not waking your spouse when restarting a PowerBook late at night in bed.
3) Buttons for easy toggling Appletalk and Sound on and off.
4) Menu access for setting sound volume.
5) Indicators for remaining battery power and processor speed.
6) Battery timers displaying minutes elapsed and approximate minutes remaining.
7) Customizing options for your own setup and usage.
8) Double-click BatteryMinder's window for computer sleep.
BatteryMinder Setup
• When run, BatteryMinder quickly drops into the background behind the Finder. So don't be surprised if it buries itself if you have a lot of windows open. You can bring it to the front by clicking on its window or choosing BatteryMinder from under the Process menu on the far right of your menu bar.
• Drop an alias of BatteryMinder (or BatteryMinder itself) into the Startup Items folder that is located in your System Folder to best make use of it's toggling Appletalk feature.
• BatteryMinder will then be launched at startup and quit when restarting or shutdown.
• BatteryMinder's window can be moved about. Click and drag within the window at any point except on the Appletalk & Sound buttons. It will remember your preferred location.
Customization
• As received, BatteryMinder will most likely have been set for my normal use on a Duo 230 with Type I batteries.
• To set up the battery estimation feature for your own personal use do the following:
a) Run BatteryMinder after an overnight charge.
b) Note the Power value in the battery gauge. Choose "Preferences" from the "File" menu and type this value into "Full Power Reading". If the Power value typically drops a lot after starting to use your computer and then levels off, type the lower value into the "Full Power Reading" instead of the artificial high after a charge.
c) Use your PowerBook solely on battery power until the first or second battery warning (depending on when you like to plug in your computer). Don't shut down the computer or quit BatteryMinder during this time or the timer cannot tell you the number of minutes you got on the charge. Putting the computer to sleep, however, is okay.
d) After the warning, note the Power value in the gas gauge and type the number into the "Empty Power Reading" box of the Preferences dialog.
e) Note the number of minutes that BatteryMinder says you got on the charge (the first of the two timers) and type that number into the "Battery Estimate Minutes" box of the Preferences dialog.
f) Tweak the values to taste and you should find the gauge to be accurate enough.
Toggling Appletalk
• Why turn off Appletalk at all? Because the System can then turn off the serial port and ignore it all together. Anything that your computer can stop attending saves on battery consumption. No kids, no baby-sitter required…
• Toggle Appletalk on/off by clicking the Appletalk button or choosing the Appletalk item under the "File" menu.
• If Appletalk was not on at startup, the menu or a dialog box will remind you that your Powerbook must be restarted to use Appletalk.
• To have Appletalk available without restarting, Appletalk must have been turned ON when shutting down/restarting or the System will not load the necessary resources at startup. This is supposed to save memory but is actually a real pain for those of us who need Appletalk once or twice a day to synchronize our files.
• Set "Appletalk Auto Toggle" to ON in the Preferences dialog to avoid this bother. If BatteryMinder is in the Startup Items folder (located in your System folder), Appletalk will be restored to how its state when BatteryMinder was last quit — when your computer is started up — but forced ON at shutdown or restart — when BatteryMinder is quit.
• In this way, Appletalk will be loaded at startup regardless of how you normally set it. Appletalk will then be available to you at all times.
Setting Sound Volume
• Toggle sound on/off by clicking on the sound button.
• The sound is toggled between 0 and the last known non-zero setting. To set the volume to another value, do so via the "Sound" sub-menu in the "File" menu.
• The last known non-zero value will be outlined. The current value will be checked.
• Setting "Sound Auto Toggle" ON in the Preferences dialog turns Sound OFF when BatteryMinder is Quit, (typically at Shutdown or Restart if you have the program running all the time). This stops all the beeps and noises at startup so my wife doesn't wake up when I need to restart my PowerBook late at night. It's also good for meetings and libraries.
Timers
• Under battery power, there are two timers. The first is the time elapsed since first running BatterMinder, or since unplugging the power supply. This timer can be reset by choosing "Reset Timer" from the File menu.
• The second timer is the estimated time remaining on the battery charge. Make sure you have customized BatterMinder in the "Preferences" dialog or this number is probably useless for all but government budget predictions.
System Sleep
• 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. The "Sleep" menu item is unavailable without Finder running.
• If you find your hard disk always spins up after waking your PowerBook, try increasing your RAM cache to at least 192k. All visible windows need to refresh after system sleep and increasing the cache should allow them to do so without accessing the hard disk. You will know you have increased it enough when it spins up only after the first wake (filling the cache with the necessary code).
Undocumented Features
• None that I am aware of, but if you find any, let me know!
Notes & Caveats
• The "Power" reading has caused some confusion. This is the number returned by the system when asked about the battery. Some programs convert the number to volts, but this is unnecessary if we simply want to see how much juice is left in the pitcher. Besides, the conversion factor changes for different computers and is bound to change with the introduction of new models. The "Power" reading, however, remains constant across Apple's line. It may initially be a "shock", but when was the last time you insisted that your car's gas gauge tell you exactly how many gallons you had left? My little Geo's reading would scare the heck out of a 72 Dodge owner…
• BatteryMinder modifies its resource fork when you set the preferences or change the window location. Therefore, it is not advisable to run it from a read-only device, such as a CD ROM. Copy it to your System Folder — there is no place like home.
Incompatibilities
• I have noticed a small incompatibility with SingleShare, a shareware program that allows System 6 sharing of files, similar to System 7. If a SingleShare volume is mounted on your Desktop 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) does not exibit this problem. 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 probably not the culprit.
Epilogue
• 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 and until the government figures out a way to tax me on benefitting the community on my own time, I'll give this version away. I also wanted to learn how to write a Macintosh program once and for all, something I've wanted to do for quite awhile.
• 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
* 1.0.0 - Original version uploaded to sumex-aim @ Stanford.
* 1.1.0 - Adds better handling of Appletalk being in use. (Thanks to Steve Ashcroft.)
* 1.1.1 - Fixes a problem introduced with v1.1 that occurred if Appletalk was off at startup in that a dialog popped up and said Appletalk was in use by "" when it wasn't even on! (Thanks to Marc Bizer.)
* 1.1.2 - Adds a dialog telling user to restart for Appletalk if it wasn't loaded at startup.
* 1.2.0 - Adds Sound volume control via menu (not simply a toggle) and various little aesthetic improvements.
* 1.2.1 - Accomodates PB100 and Portable users better. (Thanks to Brian Rutter — an ego is a fragile thing, far be it from me to want you feeling inferior!)
* 1.2.2b - Now can toggle sound OFF at program quit.
* 1.2.3 - Remembers and restores the state of Appletalk at last run (thanks to Andy 'MacTCP' Witkin) and also brings Finder to front after launch. It also fixes a bug that interrupted the Shutdown sequence if FileSharing was active.
