Using coconutBattery, a free program from Coconut Software, you can watch as your battery performance gets worse over time.
The app itself is very straight forward. Just unzip it, drag it to your Applications folder and run it. The main window is very self-explanatory – the current and maximum battery charge is displayed, along with the number of battery-loadcycles, the age of your mac and charger status. The most useful info displayed is the Current Battery Capacity. This lets you know how “worn out” your battery is. As the screenshot below indicates, it’s probably time for me to pick up a new battery.
If you select the small blue ‘arrow’ next to the Additional Info heading…
The Saved Data: pane is displayed. Here you can save your current battery status and compare it to previous dates over time.
I definitely need to check this program out, because my MacBook battery (about a year and a half old, now) is getting worse and worse at holding a charge.
After consulting CoconutBattery – I definitely need a new battery. Bleah…
Nice find. A must for any ibook or mac book owner.