Imagine this scenario, you are diligently working on the Partnership grant that your site has asked you to write for them (though occasionally stopping to check to see if a new Tech Tips has arrived) when you look to the corner of your screen and realize you need to run to the train station to catch your eight hour train. You slam shut your laptop and grab your things and head out like your life depends on it. Fortunately, you make your train and when you reach your seat, you pass out and don’t wake up until your stop.

While you were enjoying your sleep on the train, so was your laptop. You may get to your destination to find that your battery is near dead when you had left it fully charged. What could have happened?

Many computers are preconfigured to go into “Sleep” mode when you close the lid of your laptop. Mine does. Sleep mode is great because you open the lid again and you’re back working on your projects and reading the Tech Tips in a matter of seconds. Sleep mode is bad because it requires constant, low-powered battery usage to make it possible to quickly resume your work. While it might seem like your computer is doing nothing, it’s actually draining the battery slowly.                My Tech Tip of the week is a two-parted. The first part is to avoid putting your computer into “Sleep” mode just because you can easily start back up again. Instead, take a couple extra seconds to put your computer into “Hibernate”. Hibernate is great because it saves everything you are doing and the entire state of your computer at the moment of hibernation and then when you start up again you can pick up right where you left off. Your computer is completely powered down, saving your precious battery life. The downside is that you don’t have the quick startup. It should be noted that many operating systems have the option to either shut down the computer after an extended period of  not being used or to hibernate. I fully recommend you take advantage of this if you wish to continue “Sleeping” your computer instead of “Hibernating”.

My second Tech Tip will also help you save some battery power. Remember to update your computers. Updating is likely going to install new versions of things which are written more efficiently and thus will require less power to process. Don’t delay, update today.