In article <slrnat319v.49.fafa[at]BADBRAIN.mofo.net>,
User & <fafa[at]BADBRAIN.mofo.net> wrote:

> In article <d0e71a7d.0211120555.2af5fe3[at]posting.google.com>, AlanU wrote:
> > Is there a UNIX command which returns information about the battery
> > status of a powerbook running OS X?
> >
> > This would form a useful starting point for a program that
> > automatically dims the screen when the computer is running on
> > batteries. given the relatively poor battery life on OS X this might
> > be of interest to others as well as myself.
> >
> > Thanks
>
> Seeing that it is based on FreeBSD 4.4, the command apm might work. I
> haven't used OSX yet (867MHz PB on backorder...) so I can't tell if it
> is installed by default. If not, you might be able to install it your-
> self. Good luck.


Check this website for a unix script to check battery status on Mac OS X
:-
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20030311220217671&query=batt
ery

Alternately you can download an app call XBattery from
http://www.kezer.net/xbattery.html

Hope this help

--
Thomas Chai
thomas[at]terminaljunkie.com
http://www.terminaljunkie.com
=====================================
Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough; we must do
- Bruce Lee
=====================================

In article <thomas-A16D78.12221911072003[at]news.tm.net.my>,
Thomas Chai <thomas[at]terminaljunkie.com> wrote:

> In article <slrnat319v.49.fafa[at]BADBRAIN.mofo.net>,
> User & <fafa[at]BADBRAIN.mofo.net> wrote:
>
> > In article <d0e71a7d.0211120555.2af5fe3[at]posting.google.com>, AlanU wrote:
> > > Is there a UNIX command which returns information about the battery
> > > status of a powerbook running OS X?
> > >
> > > This would form a useful starting point for a program that
> > > automatically dims the screen when the computer is running on
> > > batteries. given the relatively poor battery life on OS X this might
> > > be of interest to others as well as myself.
> > >
> > > Thanks
I didn't see the original post in the thread, so please excuse my
jumping in late.

I recently bought a new battery for my Pismo (400MHz, 20GB, 392MB RAM,
OS X 10.2.6) and have found battery life to be as good as when I
originally got it (400MHz, 6GB, 128MB RAM, OS 9.1). With my new battery
(same capacity as the original), I get around 4 or 4.5 hours of use out
of it, without using any particularly draconian energy-management
techniques. This is just my experience, but it appears that the latest
versions of OS X are really quite good at power conservation.

That said, an automatic screen-dimming app is interesting. It would be
more useful for me if my screen were bright enough to warrant dimming
the screen...

--
later.

johajohn AT indianahoosiers DOT edu

Remove the adjective to reply. Indiana is a noun.