2010年8月12日星期四

Follow 6 tips To taking care of your Laptop Battery

Laptops are common now, most people have to take the laptop to school or when travel. Some times we may lose the important files or the slide show you have created (but carelessly forgot to save) may disappear if the laptop's battery does not charge. So it is necessary to take good care of out ibm ThinkPad R60 battery to avoid it stopped working suddenly.
Follow these simple instructions to get free computer problems.
1. Do not discharge the ibm ThinkPad R60e battery by playing a DVD movie or anything else that need Lot of power. Even your laptop battery has a protection circuit to stop the battery drain to a critical level. Not worry about all this happens in the background. When fully discharged reconnect to the network for a full charge.
2.Never try to charge the battery while the download is only half this Battery will not charge properly.
3. If the laptop is connected to AC power, the ibm ThinkPad T20 battery must be removed from the laptop. This is because heat damage li-ion, if your laptop puts out a lot of heat near the batteries (and smarter designed laptops do not) must remove it when not in use.
4. Never Never use a battery charger of a different composition of the laptop. different brands and models have the voltage settings and connection ports, so the most likely cause further damage to the battery. If the value your laptop / notebook only use the factory supplied charger.
5. If your laptop comes with software provided to monitor your battery consumer, make sure you are familiar with it, and you can save a lot of recharge cycles the ibm ThinkPad T21 battery if it is configured correctly.
6. Always try to keep your laptop on a flat surface, if you have the laptop on her lap most of the time without realizing it can stop the flow of air through the computer, which can raise the temperature of the battery and damage it.
The article Via Battery blog.

How Does a Laptop Battery Work?

A laptop battery works in much the same way as batteries that go into portable CD players, remote controls, and shower radios. Just like the batteries used in these household items, laptop batteries come in different sizes based upon the size of the laptop. Laptop batteries however, contain within them complex charging circuitry that works together with a laptop’s hardware.
Inside each ibm ThinkPad A20 battery are internal power cells. These power cells are arranged in a series and are parallel to each other. This is done in order to maximize the voltage level for the battery as a whole. In addition these cells are controlled by a circuit board. The circuit board regulates how the cells work for both the process of discharging and recharging energy. It makes sure that your battery is not overcharged when charging, and it makes sure that each cell drains the same amount so you can have a longer run time.
Inside each battery there are also positive and negative electrodes. In order to power your laptop, a chemical reaction occurs with both the positive and negative electrodes. This reaction flows in a specific way in order to discharge energy. Plugging in your adapter reverses this process in order to recharge your battery. The process of reversing the chemical reaction occurs for both positive and negative electrodes. To make both the discharge of energy as well as recharge process work, this process must be exact. If not, then a short-circuit may occur. This process is basically the same whether your battery runs on Lithium Ion (Li-Ion), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH), or Lithium Polymer (Li-Poly).
This process is then regulated by hardware within your laptop. The hardware in your laptop ensures that the cells are functioning to their capacity. This is what also allows you to check the life left on your laptop battery before it needs to be recharged. A battery symbol is typically displayed on the right corner of your task bar. This symbol graphically shows how much energy has been discharged as well as how much is left.
Although a ibm Thinkpad A21e battery is rechargeable, it does have a limited life span. A typical battery usually lasts for about 500-700 charges before it will no longer be capable of recharging, and a replacement is necessary. The amount of charges can vary depending on the main use of your laptop. Some functions require more energy then others. Using functions such as a DVD player or using the brigh test screen setting can drain the battery quicker, thus requiring it to be charged sooner. The more often you need to charge your battery, the sooner the battery will be drained of its life span.
Manufacturers will additionally custom tailor their ibm ThinkPad A21 battery based upon the needs of each laptop model. A few things that impact the appearance of a battery are the overall size and weight of a laptop. After all, a small notebook would be difficult to carry if the battery weighed an additional two pounds. These factors account for their varying sizes. One size does not fit all in the world of laptop manufacturing. Overall functionality is the key.

How to buy a laptop battery

When purchasing a battery for your notebook computer, the first thing a consumer should look for is the reputability of the product at mind. If the product is made by the manufacturer of your laptop (i.e. Sony, Compaq, Dell, etc), you can usually be sure it is a quality product. However, many manufactures do not actually manufacturer, instead they are the brander of the product. For example, if you open up a genuineibm-thinkpad-t23-battery, you may find that the power cells inside are actually made by Toshiba, Panasonic, or a similar big name company. Sony in this case has just made the plastic case of the battery. This goes to show that the brand of the battery you are buying does not necessarily mean that the quality is superior. Many third party brands use the exact same power cells as original manufacturers. Using a third party manufacturer is often a good way to go when buying a battery, as there are usually many extra benefits. For instance, most third party batteries are much lower in price than original manufacturers’ batteries. Secondly, they usually offer a superior warranty, as they realize that in order to win the consumer’s confidence; they must stand behind their product. A one year warranty is a must. Don’t buy any battery with a warranty less than one year. Batteries have been known to die early, and a three month warranty could leave you high and dry.
The next main thing a consumer should look for is the type of ibm Thinkpad A30 battery. Batteries can be made using several chemicals. For laptops, there are four main types. They are Ni-Cad, Ni-MH, Li-Ion, and Li-Poly. There is no major manufacturer that still makes Ni-Cad laptop batteries, as they are a very old and primitive type of power. Ni-MH is newer and more advanced, but is not as good as its Li-Ion and Li-Poly counterparts. If we compare the last three types (Ni-MH, Li-Ion, Li-Poly), we find that Ni-MH batteries weigh more than the other two, but produce less current than the other two. Li-Ion and Li-Poly are the most advanced types of batteries on the market, and you should try to get one of these two types if possible. Most laptops that come with one type of battery can not use any other type of ibm-thinkpad-t21-battery, meaning that if your laptop came with a Ni-Cad, it must be replaced by another Ni-Cad. The same goes for the other types. Please note that in some cases, this does not apply. Some laptops that come with a Ni-MH battery can be replaced with a stronger Li-Ion one.
Lastly you must look at the power rating of the item you’re buying. As technology advances, so do power ratings. The battery you bought last year may be twice as strong this year, and might even be the same physical size. Batteries have two main ratings on them: Volts and Amperes. Because laptop batteries do not carry a very large amount of power when compared to larger batteries such as car batteries, most companies show their ratings with Volts and Milliamperes. One thousand Milliamperes equals 1 Ampere. When buying a battery, always go for the battery with the most Milliamperes (or mAh). Batteries are also rated by Watt-Hours, perhaps the simplest rating of all. This is found by multiplying the Volts and the Amperes together. We will now show you an example of finding the Watt-Hours for our example battery.
Our example battery is 14.4 Volts, 3600mAh
(remember that 3600mAh is equal to 3.6 Amperes).
14.4 x 3.6 = 51.84
This battery has 51.84 Watt-Hours. The term Watt Hour signifies the energy needed to power one watt for one hour. Thus this battery can power 51.84 watts for one hour. Suppose your laptop runs at 25.92 watts (this may be unlikely, but let’s use this just for simplicity). This ibm-thinkpad-t22-battery could power your laptop for 2 hours. People usually associate the word ‘Watts’ with light bulbs, and yes, this battery could power a 40 watt light bulb for about an hour and 18 minutes, a 60 watt light bulb for about 52 minutes, or a 100 watt light bulb for 31 minutes; it’s the same idea.
The reason we have shown you watt-hours is because oftentimes the volts and Amperes vary. For example our laptop that uses a Li-Ion 14.4 Volt, 3600mAh battery may use a NI-MH battery that is 9.6 Volts, 4000mAh. Now let’s do the math and find out which battery is stronger.
Li-Ion: 14.4 Volts x 3.6 Amperes = 51.84 Watt Hours
Ni-MH: 9.6 Volts x 4 Amperes = 38.4 Watt Hours
The Li-Ion is stronger.

The information you should know when buying a laptop battery

A quality laptop battery is one of the most important things you need to have to be able to use your laptop comfortably , especially if you often rely on the laptop's portability.When shopping for a laptop battery , you need to know the type or types of batteries that your laptop is compatible with. There are four types of laptop batteries: Ni-Cad , Ni-MH , Li-Ion , and Li-Poly. Ni-Cad is an outdated type of batteries , and major manufacturers currently don't produce batteries of this type. Ni-MH is newer and better , but the best and most advanced laptop batteries are Li-Ion and Li-Poly. They weigh less but storem ibm thinkpad a20 batteries and supply more power than Ni-MH batteries. Some laptops equipped with ib are compatible with a more advanced Li-Ion one. However , before you buy a new battery , please check your laptop's specifications to find out which type or types of batteries will work on your laptop.

know of your laptop battery

2nd M? March, Ministry of Information Industry apple  battery ver? Published in 2006 the top ten events standardization  of electronic     Information industry. Regardless expecting the innovation, the  national standardization of digital video, mobile standards has been for  Chinese character input 10 as the standardization of     Top Ten Events in 2006 recommended.

Han Jun, deputy director for Science and Technology Ministry of  Information Industry said yesterday , last year China's electronic  information industry, their own     for national standards to establish significant results . National  standards for digital video, in which the introduction of two -  dimensional bar code with independent and are expecting the rights     intellectual property standards , mobile phone Chinese character  input standards for 10- Standard , is one of the players. According to  Han Jun, said , as before, the Ministry of Information Industry has a     "Portable computer , mobile power system can be completed  standardized, "the approval of the laptop battery safety, reliability  was ? fluid, Anpassungsf ? ability Environment , Quality tsprüfung     Standards put forward the basic requirements and will soon be  enforced in the country officially released.

Chinese Electronics Standardization Association , pointed out ,  accurately , that the authorities in recent years, h? more often Laptop  battery fire, and other St? rf ? lle , but the     Lack of standards and evaluation of data in connection with the  support of the rights of consumers are not effective weight ? can be  hrleistet , including normal and manufacturers     Consumer has to protect for Laptop Battery safety national standards  call for the industry 's healthy development .

Japanese firms k? mpften in solar cell production

W? during the World Lithium batteries are h? frequently a problem  when the big battery manufacturers have s set his sights on solar cells  to rapidly recall growing demand.

3rd M? March, the Japanese electronics company Kyocera invest  4-50000000000 yen in fiscal years 2010-2011, before the company  Produktionskapazit ? States for solar cells to 500 megawatts. It is     reports that Kyocera is the plant at home and abroad , introduction  of new products h? performance here to erh hen ? .

In fact, Kyocera has already Ausbaupl overseas ? ne begun. Kyocera  solar cell is located in Tianjin , China plant expansion was the second  Kapitalerh ? hung successfully completed late last     Year. Expansion is completed, the factory in Tianjin Kyocera solar  modules capacitance ? t per month hp  pavilion dv6000 battery 3.5 megawatts     or more.

In the meantime, the world's gr ? te solar cell manufacturer Sharp  3000000000 yen to invest on solar cell Produktionskapazit ? t from the  existing 600 MW to 710 MW Upgrade to     . improve W? while other solar cell makers Sanyo Electric Group  plans , even before the Gesch ? fiscal year 2010-2011, at least  40000000000 yen investment in the company's solar cell Gesch ? ft ;     Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group , the company also plans  Produktionskapazit ? States for solar cells obtained ? hen nearly twice  the.

The four Japanese companies accounted for 46.5% of the total output  of solar cells. Order in conjunction with several other big en rivals,  competing against the four companies invested     have a huge solar cell Gesch ? ftskapital . With rising ? lpreisen  and the market demand for renewable energy an increasingly strong  worldwide sales of solar cells w? chst     rapidly, they can k ? not be missed.

China's first fuel cell vehicle with Shanghai start the creation of  national standards " future car "fixed - range

Compared with drinking the drink "? l- cars , the future " of  hydrogen vehicles , which look at the end? It is the " heart " ,  "skeleton "What are the requirements? This is not who in the     Able to have the last word . Recently, this reporter by the Company  SAIC is China's national standards fujitsu  fpcbp155     Lessons for the fuel cell vehicles in Shanghai has been begun the  preparatory work , including the " fuel cell vehicles vehicle concepts "  and " fuel cell vehicles vehicle     safety requirements , "the two basic criteria to be completed in  2008. standard , first is to give future automotive given spectrum.

Shanghai is China's hydrogen fuel cell vehicle research and  development base since 2001, " 15 " key scientific and technological  projects in the     Fuel-cell car project is established in Shanghai , are developed on  the One, on the second , beyond the third Number of fuel cell vehicles  on one of the most     on advanced beyond the first third hydrogenation May to drive more  than 230 km , 100 km in city traffic only 1.1 kg of hydrogen , roughly  equivalent to four gallons of gasoline , its maximum     Speed of up to 122 Km 0 bis 100 kmh acceleration time is 19 seconds,  a number of indicators in the city? height of the current internal  combustion engine car. Even more important     , it represents a true zero - emission, the emissions are only water  . aim The current plan , Shanghai will be for the Olympic Games in  Beijing in 2008 to 100     Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles offer , but by the year 2010, the World  Expo 1000 set of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles .

No rules, no radius. With the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to f?  rdern , R & D and industrialization have allm ? hlich the D ?  mmerung of national standard - setting     Work shown , " appeared. " SAIC manager of automotive standards and  regulations YAO Chinese senior engineer permission ? constantly for  introduction : Fuel cell vehicles for preparing the     national standards , so our country to reach the first stage of fuel  cell vehicles "standards first "so that there are rules to follow , and  a law to the     Industrialization of fuel cell vehicles and in the future  commercialization and popularization use big amounts of it before as an  important Sicherheitsma ? exception . It is expected that     assumed that fuel cell vehicles in the national standards from the  early ibm Thinkpad A22e battery Work for the stage of discussions began in     M? March last year , at the time , SAIC , Tongji University, was the  National Automotive Standardization Technical Committee, the China  Automotive Technology and Research Center of the 10     Companies and institutions, a number of senior scientific personnel  groups in a special research task team by the end of this year to a     " Fuel cell vehicles vehicle concepts " and " fuel-cell vehicles  vehicle safety requirements , "the design, again seek the opinions of  the entire industry to     these two technologies abschlie standard? en.

YAO Hong Hua , automobile terminology and vehicle safety  requirements is the most basic and most important of the two criteria on  the former k? can different types     Fuel cell vehicle industry name for a uniform and names, especially  for the many traditional fuel vehicles do not have the equipment and  technology     a uniform definition to avoid confusion , the latter vehicle safety  requirements , where safety of fuel cell vehicles and vehicle parts     Components , systems, parts and vehicle safety requirements in  relation to the operation of all technical parameters are defined,  proposed and validated. The reporter from the facility     visible from two standard outline learned all kinds of vehicles  concepts, almost as many as 100, w? during the vehicle safety  requirements in the " general safety car "     be divided , "Battery Power ", "Protection against electric shock  requirements , etc. aspects of the 11 standards in detail for the "  future car "fixed spectrum.

The Geneva Motor Show: Auto energy saving environmental protection  in the topic

4th M to report ? March , as an international automotive industry  benchmark of the technological development of new energy efficient cars  and hybrid cars is the theme of the Geneva Motor Show to be .     Among them was wearing a - g show the low-emission diesel cars and  Toyota Hybrid Concept Car15  "apple powerbook g4 battery ,     by X.

The forthcoming he? opening the 77th Geneva Motor Show will be even  more worried about the global adult ? rmung and environmental issues,  including normal new EU vehicle emission standards are in     be the center of the debate. Makers on how cars more economical and  environmentally -friendly show their new technologies.

Dai - g company launches its eco-friendly green technology - BLUETEC  emissions control , and to reach the four-cylinder engine to the fuel -  optimization. In order to hrleisten weight ? to     the Euro 6 emission standards for strict reach (founded six from  Europe in 2015), on the technical side , C220BLUETEC at the top.  C220BLUETEC power 125kW , peak torque of 400Nm ,     100 km 5.5L consumption , largely on diesel - technology and  intelligent control of energy conversion.

Japan's Toyota Motor Corporation pr? presents the n ? chste  generation Prius hybrid Prius. Its batteries st ndiger ? completely  Amplifier combustion engine ? .

As does the new EU emissions standards for vehicles that can of 2012  cars per km CO2 emissions k? not more than 130 grams to 163 grams at  present is , therefore, car manufacturers more money     share in the development of automotive energy- saving technologies.  It is noteworthy that China's car manufacturers to smaller, more  energy-efficient cars, such as ibm ThinkPad A20 battery Brilliance Jinbei brings his first BS 6 sedan ,  the car to the EC Regulations, European consumers will HSO Motors     Europe, to be responsible for sales.

Other points :

Some of the best selling SUV models in the market in the seat with  the new? changes to the layout , as the GM Acadia , Toyota Highlander ,  these models are no longer in the second row and     third row of seats , the channel set the edge pedestal , w ? during  the design as a whole, although passengers up and down to easily.

A visit is worth in the "007 Casino Royale "is in the image of the  Concept Car to Debut, w? Sample the entire new generation Ford Mondeo  officially unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show.     Which model offers three body styles : four-door luxury sedan - type  , 5- door sedan and station wagon model. In addition , the vehicle with  high-performance powertrain     equipped offers four diesel and five Duratec DuratorqTDCi petrol  engine options , the performance ranges from 82.06km to 164.12km . This  year , in which vehicles will be introduced officially in Europe     be .

In addition, BMW will provide its new 5-Series , pr ? presents the  new Volkswagen Golf Variant.

It is reported that more than 250 companies in the ibm ThinkPad A21 battery Geneva Motor Show Ausstellungsfl ? surface of  77,000     participate square meters, gesch ? tzte presence will be 70 million ,  show time is 8-18 days in M? March.

Paper -thin battery by Zhang Xia -Chang appeared designed in the  "2006 Chinese Festival of the World "

Ningbo Ji Zhang Xia - Chang scientists recently appeared in the  world because you know the world and sh ? n --- 2006 Chinese Festival  "award , a candidate , one of five Chinese     Scientists influence .

"Influence the world of the Chinese Festival 2006 "organized by the  Phoenix joint selection Zhongguo Xinwen She , At Qingbao , Baidu ,  Southern Media Group newspaper , Sin Chew Daily, and     another 10 most influential Chinese -language media organizations in  overseas co-hosts this year for the first time selection . In the list  of 26 candidates , there are five sports stars Liu     Xiang and so on, Ang Lee and other 8 -bit entertainment people ?  nlichkeit and Chan and other celebrities.

"2006 Chinese Festival , to the detriment of the World " campaign by  100 media professionals and the people , text messaging , Internet  -Voting common assessments , the final w hlt ? 12:10     Chinese is excellent and for 31 M? March lecture at the Universit ? t  Beijing planned. News Links.

Zhang Xia -Chang Beilun Xiapu native, from East China Institute ibm Thinkpad A21e battery of ibm ThinkPad A22 battery Chemical Technology (now the East China  University of Technology) , University of Helsinki , Finland, and earned  a     Ph.D. , is now chief technology officer for the Finnish Enfucell .  Last year, he developed low -cost environmentally friendly paper  batteries such as smart cards are used function buttons,     Gru musical cards ? , e- newspapers, such as power supply , can be  used for RFID ( Radio Frequency Identification ) tag . As the latest  innovative technology that has the success of the World Economic     Forum in 2006 as a " 2007 Technology Pioneer has been . " This paper  is the battery side of galvanized and a thin layer of manganese dioxide  coated paper as a senior     K? body , the thickness of less than 0.5 mm, and the traditional  environmental problems can be avoided by the battery to be used as  household waste will be treated .

Know Your Laptop Battery

When given this question to any user of the laptop or notebook, they will get confused. This happens to me once when someone asks me about the battery of my laptop. As you can see, before replacing the laptop battery is very important to know a little about the field again in the first place. There are several types of laptop batteries that I will share in this post.
The types of laptop batteries:
1. Alkaline – This is a common battery around, but only a few use laptops and the ruling on alkaline ibm thinkpad  r30 Battery is not rechargeable. You have to shoot once to deflate.
2. Lead Acid – One of the most common uses of this kind is for laptops. It is durable, resistant and rechargeable, but unfortunately the ibm thinkpad g40  Battery is heavy and full of lead: P.
3. Lithium-Ion – The type of Vostro 1510 battery that you want to have for your laptop. The quick-charge effect is good for users moving (no need to wait a while for the battery is fully charged.) It is also environmentally friendly as well.
4. Nickel Cadmium – Ni-Cd is one of the oldest types and improved performance of rechargeable Vostro 1310 battery , but has a serious problem. After prolonged use (several years), the battery will be affected by the dreaded memory effect. This means that the use of battery life deteriorates over time.
5. Nickel Metal Hydride – Ni-MH is considered the successor to the Ni-Cd batteries, but unfortunately, the dreaded memory effect is as bad as well. However, comparison of the Ni-Cd and NiMH batteries, it lasts longer compared to its predecessor.
The chances of using ibm thinkpad z60t  battery is 99% (that is if you are using the new breed of laptops:)). Just check the abbreviation says Lion or Li-Ion batteries in laptop battery label. There are still some laptops that use Ni-MH batteries these days and you may want to check with the manufacturer if you can make an update of Ni-MH Li-Ion. The unauthorized use of batteries could lead to dire consequences …. so do be very careful about this. If you have a larger budget you might want to check the SMART batteries. It has a power management circuit and also tells the user which is the current condition of the battery.

Laptop power on planes: observations, tips, and lessons

Before I get into some recent experiences getting laptop power on planes (both failed and successful ones), I wanted to give a plug for laptopbatteriesinc.au.com. If you want to know which seats are most comfortable on a plane (with detailed commentary on specific seats), whether or not power is available at the seats, etc. go to seatguru.com. It’s an awesome (and free) service — check it out.
Recently, I decided to get the gear necessary to get power at my seat on planes. For years, I have always packed an extra battery to get me through long flights, but my recent trip to Bangalore and London (over 50 hours in planes) made me reconsider. Many domestic flights offer in-seat power, though it doesn’t seem to be well-promoted or even understood at a basic level by the flight attendants (as I learned on a recent Delta flight — see below). Here’s what I’ve learned about in-seat power on planes (British Airways has a decent primer on in-seat power in their planes that seems to be generally applicable based on my experience):
You need a device called an “inverter”. I’m not sure it was the best choice, but I picked up the XPower Pocket Inverter 100 at Radio Shack just before my trip to Bangalore. The inverter has one plug that goes into the plane power socket and then you can plug any typical two or three-prong device into the inverter using a regular power supply. The inverter simply transforms the plane power into power you can use. (If anyone has advice on the best inverter to get, please leave a comment!)
The power jack in the plane is known as an “Empower” jack. It’s not the same as a cigarette lighter adapter (it’s substantially smaller), though some inverters come with a cigarette lighter plug that you fit into the Empower interface on the inverter so you can also use the inverter in a car. I don’t think I’ve seen an Empower jack anywhere but on a plane, so the plug looks unusual. In fact, I would go as far to say that the Empower interface is poorly designed since I had some trouble with it (more below. . . the photo with this post is of an Empower plug, by the way).
Flight attendants might not know anything about the power systems on their planes. On a Delta flight last week, I had checked seatguru.com beforehand for the plane I was taking, and it showed power between every seat in economy. When I boarded, I asked the flight attendant about laptop battery  power between the seats and she clearly had no idea what I was talking about — she said there was no power for laptops in coach. Sure enough, once I sat down, the Empower power port was easily found between the seats, and it worked (mostly anyway).
Don’t assume the power port at your seat will work. On four legs of British Airways flights, I had these experiences: 1) power worked flawlessly, 2) power didn’t work at all, 3) someone had stuffed chewing gum and paper into the power port and I wasn’t willing to dig it all out, and 4) power worked, but only if I held the Empower plug from my inverter at a certain angle with one hand (roughly the same experience you might have with cheap headphones that you have to twist to hear an iPod or other audio device). Of course, this makes it difficult to type or do anything productive.
On my Delta flight last week, the Empower port that my flight attendant didn’t know about actually worked, but I had to hold the plug in the socket to keep it connected properly, which was kind of a pain. It might be my inverter, but the Empower interface just doesn’t seem to click in tightly. It seems like a flimsy interface in general. I suspect that the tight quarters in planes encourage accidental abuse of the ports when they are being used, which makes the plugs wear out over time, leaving a looser fit for future users.
The inverter can get really hot. This could be worse with the particular inverter I got, but I suspect it’s true across the board. When you’re in a coach seat with your laptop running, there isn’t a ton of room for much else. In my case, the inverter sat on my leg and the heat was pretty uncomfortable — think “twice as hot as a laptop” and you’ll get the picture.
You might be able to use your laptop and charge your battery at the same time — or you might not. I don’t know enough about electricity to understand this, but on the British Airways flight, I could use my laptop but the battery wouldn’t charge. On the Delta flight, I used my laptop and the battery charged. On the British Airways flights, they said you could only use laptops with their power system, i.e. you couldn’t charge iPods or run portable DVD players. This doesn’t make sense to me — anyone have more details?
Overall, it’s a good idea to check seatguru.com and pack an inverter in your carry-on if you might need power on a long flight — but make sure you don’t have to do the work you’re expecting to do on the plane, because you might have problems.