[ltp] Battery memory issue

[John Jason Jordan]

Thinkpad T61, about a month old, Gutsy amd64.

My Thinkpad came with a 6-cell battery. One of the first things I did
was to test it to see how long it would last under ordinary use. For
me, "rodinary use" means running OOo Writer, surfing the net (with
wireless), listening to streaming radio (wireless again), and
miscellaneous things. Except for listening to radio, none are done
simultaneously. I found that the 6-cell battery gave me about 3 hours
use.

A couple weeks ago I ordered a 9-cell battery, which all the literature
said should give me six hours. Of course, the literature also said the
6-cell battery would give me four hours, so I expected about five hours
from the 9-cell battery. Today I tested it for the first time. After
about three hours right-clicking on the battery icon in my gnome panel
said I had about 1:15 left. About five minutes later I was suddenly
staring at a black screen. No warning. And it would not restart. I
reseated the battery, but it was totally dead. So my new 9-cell battery
gives me about 3:05 hours, roughly the same as the original 6-cell
battery.

I have heard that batteries have a "memory," but I have no ken of how
it works, except that apparently it has something to do with breaking
in a new battery. The new 9-cell battery arrived 95% charged up, and
was immediately charged to 100% where it sat (connected to the
mini-dock) until today when I went to the university and discovered
that it lasted only a little over three hours.

There are two problems: 1) Why does my new 9-cell battery give me only
a little over three hours and, 2) Why did Gutsy give me no warning
before the battery died?

Any suggestions and observations welcome.