GNOME.org
 

[gnome-user-docs] Wrote several power management topics. Ready for review.

commit c8469cf5d3546a41cab18620d38d7e573544b80f
Author: Phil Bull <philbull gmail com>
Date:   Fri Dec 31 16:57:17 2010 +0000

    Wrote several power management topics. Ready for review.

 gnome-help/C/power-batterybroken.page   |   33 ++++++++++----
 gnome-help/C/power-batterycapacity.page |   47 ++++++++++++++++----
 gnome-help/C/power-batteryestimate.page |   33 ++++++++++----
 gnome-help/C/power-batterylife.page     |   72 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++----
 gnome-help/C/power-batteryoptimal.page  |   35 +++++++++++----
 gnome-help/C/power-batterywindows.page  |   22 ++++++----
 gnome-help/C/power-othercountry.page    |   29 ++++++++----
 7 files changed, 203 insertions(+), 68 deletions(-)
---
diff --git a/gnome-help/C/power-batterybroken.page b/gnome-help/C/power-batterybroken.page
index a573a40..95e2162 100644
--- a/gnome-help/C/power-batterybroken.page
+++ b/gnome-help/C/power-batterybroken.page
@@ -1,25 +1,38 @@
 <page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/";
-      xmlns:e="http://projectmallard.org/experimental/";
       type="topic"
       id="power-batterybroken">
 
   <info>
     <link type="guide" xref="power#battery"/>
-    <desc>XXX</desc>
-    <revision pkgversion="0.1" version="0.1" date="2010-06-29" status="stub"/>
+    <link type="seealso" xref="power-batteryoptimal"/>
+    
+    <desc>Your battery is probably not broken; it's more likely that it's just old.</desc>
+    <revision pkgversion="3.0" version="0.1" date="2010-12-31" status="draft"/>
     <credit type="author">
       <name>GNOME Documentation Project</name>
       <email>gnome-doc-list gnome org</email>
     </credit>
+    <credit type="author">
+      <name>Phil Bull</name>
+      <email>philbull gmail com</email>
+    </credit>
     
     <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
   </info>
 
-  <title>Why does it say my battery is broken?</title>
-  
-  <comment>
-   <cite date="2010-06-29" href="mailto:gnome-doc-list gnome org">GNOME Documentation Project</cite>
-   <p>Message displayed when user logs in for the first time; if laptop battery is old, its maximum capacity will be low and GPM will tell the user that it might be broken. This could panic users - reassurance and explanation is needed.</p>
-  </comment>
-	
+<title>Why does it say my battery is broken?</title>
+
+<p>When you first log in, you might see a message that says:</p>
+<quote>
+ <p><em>Battery may be broken. Your battery has a very low capacity which means that it may be old or broken.</em></p>
+</quote>
+
+<p>This message is displayed when the computer detects that your battery is not capable of storing much charge. The most likely reason for this is that your battery is old; it's probably not broken, so there's no need to worry.</p>
+
+<p>Over time, all laptop batteries lose their ability to store charge. After a while (normally a year or more), the battery will only be able to store a fraction of the charge that it could when it was new. The message above is shown when this happens.</p>
+
+<p>If your computer/battery is relatively new, it should be capable of holding a high percentage of its <link xref="power-batterycapacity">design charge</link>. If it can't, then your battery may be broken and you might need to seek a replacement.</p>
+
+<p>See <link xref="power-batterycapacity"/> for instructions on how to check your battery's capacity.</p>
+
 </page>
diff --git a/gnome-help/C/power-batterycapacity.page b/gnome-help/C/power-batterycapacity.page
index 378ec5a..2c61f40 100644
--- a/gnome-help/C/power-batterycapacity.page
+++ b/gnome-help/C/power-batterycapacity.page
@@ -1,25 +1,52 @@
 <page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/";
-      xmlns:e="http://projectmallard.org/experimental/";
       type="topic"
       id="power-batterycapacity">
 
   <info>
     <link type="guide" xref="power#battery"/>
-    <desc>XXX</desc>
-    <revision pkgversion="0.1" version="0.1" date="2010-06-29" status="stub"/>
+    <link type="seealso" xref="power-batteryoptimal"/>
+    
+    <desc>Batteries get less efficient at storing charge as they get older, so you might want to check how efficient your battery is.</desc>
+    <revision pkgversion="3.0" version="0.1" date="2010-12-31" status="draft"/>
     <credit type="author">
       <name>GNOME Documentation Project</name>
       <email>gnome-doc-list gnome org</email>
     </credit>
+    <credit type="author">
+      <name>Phil Bull</name>
+      <email>philbull gmail com</email>
+    </credit>
     
     <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
   </info>
 
-  <title>XXX</title>
-  
-  <comment>
-   <cite date="2010-06-29" href="mailto:gnome-doc-list gnome org">GNOME Documentation Project</cite>
-   <p>This is a conceptual topic. It should explain the difference between design and actual battery capacity (these figures can be viewed in the GPM interface). It should explain why there is a difference, and why battery capacity degrades over time.</p>
-  </comment>
-	
+<title>Checking the capacity of your battery</title>
+
+<p>Laptop batteries lose their ability to store charge with age. In general, this means that your laptop's battery will not last as long as time goes by. You can check how much charge it can store now, compared with when it was new:</p>
+
+<steps>
+ <item>
+  <!-- FIXME: Check this. It's different in Ubuntu. -->
+  <p>Right-click the battery icon on the top panel and click the battery status (above <gui>Preferences</gui>).</p>
+ </item>
+ <item>
+  <p>The Power Statistics window will be displayed. Select the laptop battery from the list on the left of the window and go to the <gui>Details</gui> tab.</p>
+ </item>
+ <item>
+  <p>Scroll down to find the <gui>Energy when full</gui>, <gui>Energy (design)</gui> and <gui>Capacity</gui> attributes.</p>
+ </item>
+</steps>
+
+<p><gui>Energy (design)</gui> is how much energy (charge) the battery could store when it was brand new.</p>
+
+<p><gui>Energy when full</gui> is how much energy the battery can currently store when it is fully charged.</p>
+
+<p><gui>Capacity</gui> tells you how much charge the battery can store now compared to when it was new.</p>
+
+<p>The lower the capacity gets, the shorter the period of time you will be able to use the laptop for (on battery) before needing to plug it in. If this gets too low, you will have to either keep the laptop plugged in all the time or buy a new battery.</p>
+
+<note>
+ <p>There may be a small discrepancy between the Capacity and Energy statistics. Most of the figures displayed in the Power Statistics are only approximate guides.</p>
+</note>
+
 </page>
diff --git a/gnome-help/C/power-batteryestimate.page b/gnome-help/C/power-batteryestimate.page
index ba6fd43..bb70a98 100644
--- a/gnome-help/C/power-batteryestimate.page
+++ b/gnome-help/C/power-batteryestimate.page
@@ -1,25 +1,38 @@
 <page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/";
-      xmlns:e="http://projectmallard.org/experimental/";
       type="topic"
       id="power-batteryestimate">
 
   <info>
+  
     <link type="guide" xref="power#battery"/>
-    <desc>XXX</desc>
-    <revision pkgversion="0.1" version="0.1" date="2010-06-29" status="stub"/>
+    
+    <desc>The battery life that is displayed is only an estimate.</desc>
+    <revision pkgversion="3.0" version="0.1" date="2010-12-31" status="draft"/>
     <credit type="author">
       <name>GNOME Documentation Project</name>
       <email>gnome-doc-list gnome org</email>
     </credit>
+    <credit type="author">
+      <name>Phil Bull</name>
+      <email>philbull gmail com</email>
+    </credit>
     
     <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
   </info>
 
-  <title>It says X minutes of battery remaining, but that's not true</title>
-  
-  <comment>
-   <cite date="2010-06-29" href="mailto:gnome-doc-list gnome org">GNOME Documentation Project</cite>
-   <p>Explain why the "charge remaining" estimate isn't completely accurate, and how the estimate improves over time.</p>
-  </comment>
-	
+<title>It says X minutes of battery remaining, but that's not true</title>
+
+<p>When you check the remaining battery life, you may find that the <em>time remaining</em> it reports is different to how long the battery <em>actually</em> lasts. This is because the amount of remaining battery life can only be estimated. The estimates should get better over time, though.</p>
+
+<p>In order to estimate the remaining battery life, a number of factors must be taken into account. One is the amount of power currently being used by the computer: power consumption varies depending on how many programs you have open, which devices are plugged in, and whether you are running any intensive tasks (like watching a DVD or converting music files, for example). This changes from moment to moment, and is difficult to predict.</p>
+
+<p>Another factor is how the battery discharges. Some batteries lose charge faster the emptier they get. Without precise knowledge of how the battery discharges, only a rough estimate of remaining battery life can be made.</p>
+
+<p>As the battery discharges, the Power Manager will figure-out its discharge properties and will learn how to make better estimates of battery life. They will never be completely accurate, though.</p>
+
+<note>
+ <p>If you get a completely ridiculous battery life estimate (say, hundreds of days!), the Power Manager is probably missing some of the data it needs to make a sensible estimate.</p>
+ <p>If you unplug the power and run the laptop on battery for a while, then plug it in and let it recharge again, the Power Manager should be able to get the data it needs.</p>
+</note>
+
 </page>
diff --git a/gnome-help/C/power-batterylife.page b/gnome-help/C/power-batterylife.page
index 490014c..a96abe0 100644
--- a/gnome-help/C/power-batterylife.page
+++ b/gnome-help/C/power-batterylife.page
@@ -1,25 +1,77 @@
 <page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/";
-      xmlns:e="http://projectmallard.org/experimental/";
       type="topic"
       id="power-batterylife">
 
   <info>
     <link type="guide" xref="power#battery"/>
-    <desc>XXX</desc>
-    <revision pkgversion="0.1" version="0.1" date="2010-06-29" status="stub"/>
+    <link type="seealso" xref="power-suspendhibernate"/>
+    
+    <desc>Tips to reduce your computer's power consumption.</desc>
+    
+    <revision pkgversion="3.0" version="0.1" date="2010-12-31" status="incomplete"/>
     <credit type="author">
       <name>GNOME Documentation Project</name>
       <email>gnome-doc-list gnome org</email>
     </credit>
+    <credit type="author">
+      <name>Phil Bull</name>
+      <email>philbull gmail com</email>
+    </credit>
     
     <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
   </info>
 
-  <title>How can I use less power and improve battery life?</title>
-  
-  <comment>
-   <cite date="2010-06-29" href="mailto:gnome-doc-list gnome org">GNOME Documentation Project</cite>
-   <p>Tips on reducing power consumption (laptop/netbook/desktop PC). Tips on improving battery life for laptops/netbooks.</p>
-  </comment>
-	
+<title>How can I use less power and improve battery life?</title>
+
+<p>Computers can use a lot of power. By using some simple energy-saving strategies, you can reduce your energy bill and help the environment. If you have a laptop, this will also help to increase the amount of time it can run on battery for.</p>
+
+<section id="general">
+ <title>General tips</title>
+
+ <list>
+  <item>
+   <p><link xref="power-suspendhibernate">Put your computer to sleep</link> when you are not using it. This significantly reduces the amount of power it uses, and it can be woken-up very quickly.</p>
+  </item>
+  <item>
+   <p>Turn off the computer when you will not be using it for longer periods. Some people worry that turning off a computer regularly may cause it wear out faster, but modern computers are quite robust, so this shouldn't be an issue.</p>
+  </item>
+  <item>
+   <p>Use the Power Management preferences to change your power settings. There are a number of options that will help to save power: you can <link xref="power-whydim">automatically dim</link> the display or send it to sleep after a certain time; <link xref="power-brighter">reduce the display's brightness</link> (for laptops); <link xref="power-spindown">spin-down the hard disk</link> (send it to sleep); and have the computer <link xref="power-suspendhibernate">automatically go to sleep</link> if you haven't used it for a certain period of time.</p>
+  </item>
+  <item>
+   <p>Turn-off any external devices (like printers and scanners) when you're not using them.</p>
+  </item>
+ </list>
+</section>
+
+<section id="laptop">
+ <title>Laptops, netbooks, and other devices with batteries</title>
+
+ <list>
+  <item>
+   <p><link xref="power-brighter">Reduce the screen's brightness</link>; powering the screen accounts for a significant fraction of a laptop's power consumption.</p>
+   <p>Most laptops have buttons on the keyboard (or a keyboard shortcut) that you can use to reduce the brightness.</p>
+  </item>
+  <item>
+   <p>If you don't need an Internet connection for a little while, turn off the wireless/bluetooth card. These devices work by broadcasting radio waves, which takes quite a bit of power.</p>
+   <p>Some computers have a physical switch that can be used to turn it off, whereas others have a keyboard shortcut that you can use instead. You can turn it on again when you need it.</p>
+  </item>
+ </list>
+</section>
+
+<section id="general">
+ <title>More advanced tips</title>
+
+ <list>
+  <item>
+   <p>Reduce the number of tasks that are running in the background. Computers use more power when they have more work to do.</p>
+   <p>To see a list of background tasks, open the <gui>Startup Applications</gui> preferences and look at the <gui>Startup Programs</gui> tab. Uncheck any of the tasks that you don't want running in the background, then click <gui>Close</gui>.</p>
+   <p>Be careful not to disable any tasks that do something important. You should also note that this is unlikely to make a big difference to your computer's power consumption.</p>
+  </item>
+  <item>
+   <p>Run the <app>PowerTop</app> tool. You will probably have to install it first, and it needs to be run from the command line. PowerTop analyzes your computer and gives you advice on advanced methods of power saving. It can perform most of these methods for you.</p>
+  </item>
+ </list>
+</section>
+
 </page>
diff --git a/gnome-help/C/power-batteryoptimal.page b/gnome-help/C/power-batteryoptimal.page
index c44a9b8..40f5409 100644
--- a/gnome-help/C/power-batteryoptimal.page
+++ b/gnome-help/C/power-batteryoptimal.page
@@ -5,21 +5,38 @@
 
   <info>
     <link type="guide" xref="power#battery"/>
-    <desc>XXX</desc>
-    <revision pkgversion="0.1" version="0.1" date="2010-06-29" status="stub"/>
+    <desc>Don't let the battery run down too far.</desc>
+    <revision pkgversion="3.0" version="0.1" date="2010-12-31" status="review"/>
     <credit type="author">
       <name>GNOME Documentation Project</name>
       <email>gnome-doc-list gnome org</email>
     </credit>
+    <credit type="author">
+      <name>Phil Bull</name>
+      <email>philbull gmail com</email>
+    </credit>
     
     <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
   </info>
 
-  <title>Getting the best out of your laptop battery</title>
-  
-  <comment>
-   <cite date="2010-06-29" href="mailto:gnome-doc-list gnome org">GNOME Documentation Project</cite>
-   <p>Strategies for optimal battery consumption/charging. Lots of people have opinions on how/when to charge your battery: do you let it run down fully before charging, or leave it plugged in all the time, or what?</p>
-  </comment>
-	
+<title>Getting the best out of your laptop battery</title>
+
+<p>As laptop batteries age, they get worse at storing charge and their capacity gradually decreases. There are a few techniques that you can use to prolong their useful lifetime, although you shouldn't expect a big difference.</p>
+
+<list>
+ <item>
+  <p>Don't let the battery run all the way down. Always recharge <em>before</em> the battery gets very low; recharging when it is only partially discharged is more efficient.</p>
+ </item>
+ <item>
+  <p>Heat has a detrimental effect on a battery's charging efficiency. Don't let the battery get any warmer than it has to.</p>
+ </item>
+ <item>
+  <p>Batteries age even if you leave them in storage. There is little advantage in buying a replacement battery at the same time as you get the original battery - always buy replacements when you need them.</p>
+ </item>
+</list>
+
+<note>
+ <p>This advice applies specifically to Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) batteries, which are the most common type. Other types of battery may behave differently.</p>
+</note>
+
 </page>
diff --git a/gnome-help/C/power-batterywindows.page b/gnome-help/C/power-batterywindows.page
index 72440ca..d3227f4 100644
--- a/gnome-help/C/power-batterywindows.page
+++ b/gnome-help/C/power-batterywindows.page
@@ -1,25 +1,29 @@
 <page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/";
-      xmlns:e="http://projectmallard.org/experimental/";
       type="topic"
       id="power-batterywindows">
 
   <info>
     <link type="guide" xref="power#battery"/>
-    <desc>XXX</desc>
-    <revision pkgversion="0.1" version="0.1" date="2010-06-29" status="stub"/>
+    <desc>Tweaks from the manufacturer and differing battery life estimates may be the cause of this problem.</desc>
+    <revision pkgversion="3.0" version="0.1" date="2010-12-31" status="review"/>
     <credit type="author">
       <name>GNOME Documentation Project</name>
       <email>gnome-doc-list gnome org</email>
     </credit>
+    <credit type="author">
+      <name>Phil Bull</name>
+      <email>philbull gmail com</email>
+    </credit>
     
     <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
   </info>
 
-  <title>Why do I have less battery life than I did on Windows/Mac OS?</title>
-  
-  <comment>
-   <cite date="2010-06-29" href="mailto:gnome-doc-list gnome org">GNOME Documentation Project</cite>
-   <p>Explain reasons why the battery life in Linux (etc) could be shorter than on other OSes. Reasons might include inaccurate battery life estimates (see power-batteryestimate), misestimates on the other OS, or optimisations on the other OS that are missing in Linux.</p>
-  </comment>
+<title>Why do I have less battery life than I did on Windows/Mac OS?</title>
+
+<p>Some computers appear to have a shorter battery life when running on Linux than they do when running Windows or Mac OS. One reason for this is that computer vendors install special software for Windows/Mac OS that optimizes various hardware/software settings for a given model of computer. These tweaks are often highly specific, and may not be documented, so including them in Linux is difficult.</p>
+
+<p>Unfortunately, there's not an easy way of applying these tweaks yourself without knowing exactly what they are. You may find that using some <link xref="power-batterylife">simple power-saving methods</link> helps, though. If your computer has a <link xref="power-batteryslow">variable-speed processor</link>, you might find that changing its settings is also useful.</p>
+
+<p>Another possible reason for the discrepancy is that the method of estimating battery life is different on Windows/Mac OS than on Linux. The actual battery life could be exactly the same, but the different methods give different estimates. See <link xref="power-batteryestimate"/> for more information.</p>
 	
 </page>
diff --git a/gnome-help/C/power-othercountry.page b/gnome-help/C/power-othercountry.page
index c6bda43..0f10976 100644
--- a/gnome-help/C/power-othercountry.page
+++ b/gnome-help/C/power-othercountry.page
@@ -1,25 +1,34 @@
 <page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/";
-      xmlns:e="http://projectmallard.org/experimental/";
       type="topic"
       id="power-othercountry">
 
   <info>
     <link type="guide" xref="power#problems"/>
-    <desc>XXX</desc>
-    <revision pkgversion="0.1" version="0.1" date="2010-06-29" status="stub"/>
+    <desc>Your computer will work, but you might need a different power cable or a travel adapter.</desc>
+    
+    <revision pkgversion="3.0" version="0.1" date="2010-12-31" status="draft"/>
     <credit type="author">
       <name>GNOME Documentation Project</name>
       <email>gnome-doc-list gnome org</email>
     </credit>
+    <credit type="author">
+      <name>Phil Bull</name>
+      <email>philbull gmail com</email>
+    </credit>
     
     <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
   </info>
 
-  <title>Will my computer work with a different country's power supply?</title>
-  
-  <comment>
-   <cite date="2010-06-29" href="mailto:gnome-doc-list gnome org">GNOME Documentation Project</cite>
-   <p>Explain that computers work fine at different AC voltages. Note that you must have an adapter for the wall socket.</p>
-  </comment>
-	
+<title>Will my computer work with a different country's power supply?</title>
+
+<p>Different countries use power supplies at different voltages (usually 110V or 220-240V) and AC frequencies (usually 50 Hz or 60 Hz). Your computer should work with a different country's power supply as long as you have an appropriate power adapter. You may also need to flip a switch.</p>
+
+<p>If you have a laptop, all you should need to do is get the right plug for your power adapter. Many laptops are delivered with more than one plug for their adapter, so you may already have the right one. If not, plugging your existing one into a standard travel adapter will suffice.</p>
+
+<p>If you have a desktop computer, you can also get a cable with a different plug, or use a travel adapter. In this case, however, you may need to change the voltage switch on the computer's power supply, if there is one. Many computers don't have a switch like this, and will happily work with either voltage. Look at the back of the computer and find the socket that the power cable plugs into. Somewhere nearby, there may be a small switch marked "110V" or "230V" (for example). Switch it if you need to.</p>
+
+<note style="warning">
+ <p>Be careful when changing power cables or using travel adapters. Switch everything off first if you can.</p>
+</note>
+
 </page>
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