Scientists can send a man to the moon, launch satellites into space, and clone life forms, but as of yet, no one has been able to develop a laptop battery that lasts a full working day. If Intel has its way, the 8 hour laptop battery will be available in 2-4 years. In the meantime, laptop users need a solution now for how to increase battery life. Until the eight hour battery makes it's debut, there are a few ways that you can get more life from your laptop batteries.

First, there are the obvious solutions like closing software programs that you're not using. Another is to set your computer to hibernate when you walk away. Although most of us realize that we should do this, what normally happens is that the few moments we assume we'll be away from our computer turns into a few hours. Until the longer life laptop battery hits the shelves, using hibernate or standby is one of the most important things you can do to preserve the life of your laptop battery.

To set your Windows computer to automatically go into hibernate mode, open your control panel, select "power options," choose the "hibernate" tab, and check "enable hibernation." After that, click the "power schemes" tab and set the amount of idle time after which you want your computer time to hibernate.

Mac users can set their sleep mode preferences by selecting "system preferences," clicking the energy saver tab, and then clicking "sleep." The earlier you set your computer to sleep, longer the battery will last. Sure, it's a bit annoying to have the screen saver appear after 1 minute of non-use, but when you consider the savings from the laptop battery's point of view, it's a smart trade-off.

Aside from using less power, you can actually condition your battery to retain more power. Just like an Olympic athlete conditions to get into optimal shape, so too can your laptop battery. When you purchase a new laptop battery, it comes to you completely empty of charge. Though most of us can't wait to get back to using our laptops cord-free the moment possible, it's important to let the battery accumulate a full and complete charge.

For the first 2 or 3 cycles only, you'll want to completely deplete your battery before recharging to the max. This "trains" your battery to understand its own power capacity. After those first few cycles, you'll want to recharge your laptop battery, ideally, before it depletes entirely.

When to get a new laptop battery

If you've got to recharge every 2 hours, it's time for a new battery! Most of us put off buying a laptop battery until the computer practically won't hold a charge at all. Buying a laptop battery may not be as interesting a purchase as buying something new for your closet, but once it arrives, you might wonder why you waited so long to make your life so much simpler. Once you get it installed, try out some of these tips. If you treat your new laptop battery well, it may just last until the 8-hour battery finally becomes available.