More good news on notebook battery front

Japanese firm Sanyo has claimed it has developed a negative electrode for lithium ion batteries and that will boost the energy levels of notebooks by just under 40 per cent.

The firm said the tweaked anode uses a thin film of silicon on a copper base, rather than the old method of using powdered graphite anodes.

But it could be a few years before Sanyo is able to bring the new technique to market, although it already has a prototype in its labs that will allow for 50 recharges.

Battery life is the Holy Grail for notebook users, and firms like Intel, which make microprocessors for these type of PCs, hopes that other breakthroughs - particularly in TFT LCD screen technology - will permit its chips to run for more than just their average two to three hours.

Aside from the hardware components that drain energy in notebooks, some suckers believe that the Windows operating system and overweight application software drains the battery more effectively than TFT LCD screens.

But as far as we are aware, Microsoft has no plans to drastically slim PC notebook software down to the necessary thickness.

And its partner, Intel, although it designs effective and fast software itself, seems oddly reluctant to take over Microsoft's mantle. µ

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