Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2015 December 21

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December 21

Battery charging issue

I bought a new battery for PC today. The shopkeeper said to charge the battery for 4-5 hours, but did not say/I forgot to ask 'before use' or 'if it can be done while I'm using my PC'. What do you guys recommend? Also, why 4-5 hours when the battery becomes full after 1.5 hours? -- Space Ghost (talk) 19:59, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

1) They tend to say they are full when they are not. This makes them seem like a better product if they fill up more quickly. You might find that it drops faster after 1.5 hours of charging than after 5 hours, despite being shown to be full in both cases.

Understood! -- Space Ghost (talk) 20:17, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

2) I don't understand your use of the term "PC". To me that means a desktop computer, which is always plugged in. The only batteries they typically have is one to keep the clock going, when unplugged. Do you mean a laptop ? StuRat (talk) 21:18, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

I think this is a fading distinction in current usage. People concerned with user experience generally lump "desktops", in the older sense of a tower with an AT(X) form factor, together with laptops, and call them both "the desktop", which is in contradistinction with "mobile". It makes a lot of sense, because except in a couple of gross physical ways that aren't usually considered, the UX for towers and laptops is identical. As regards those gross physical differences, I think laptop keyboards and displays are both too small and I can't stand touchpads, so I use external keyboard, mouse, and display — once you've done that, there's really no difference in the UX, unless you stretch that term to how difficult it is to open the box up with a screwdriver and start changing stuff. --Trovatore (talk) 23:08, 25 December 2015 (UTC)

2) I meant Personal Computer, excluding from the Computer term of course. Usually I do identify computers as Laptop Computer and Desktop Computer or Laptops and Desktops, but since every English word means something, I tend to distinguish the word PC as the one of your own... Let me know if I'm still wrong to do so... -- Space Ghost (talk) 20:17, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Do not put too much weight on what the shopkeeper said. Read the documentation of the PC. --Abaget (talk) 21:21, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Found it! -- Space Ghost (talk) 20:17, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Thanks guys -- Space Ghost (talk) 20:17, 22 December 2015 (UTC)