Warning that I'm on Battery power

[dbarton]

I was doing a presentation on Sat, and I guess my power cord wasn't plugged in all the way, so I was on battery power. Died halfway thru the presentation in front of 1000 people, and went in hibernation. Bad!!

I use the laptop for audio so they don't see the screen.

I want a small flashing box on my screen every time I'm on battery power so this never happens again.
Anyone seen such a tiny program?

 

[Quiksilver]

Usually there is a battery meter sitting in the system tray displaying the battery level and once it reaches a certain level a balloon popup will say low battery or similar...

 

[Nothinman]

Yea, every OS I know can display a battery or power cord to let you know which you're using currently.

 

[dbarton]

Yes, but that's a tiny window, and in the middle of a presentation one doesn't notice. I obliviously didn't see it this time.
I want a nice big box window on top showing whether I'm on AC or Batt.

 

[Nothinman]

Why not just set the battery warning to come up when you're at like 50% power instead then?

 

[dbarton]

Since no one knew an actual program to suggest, I ended up just writing a program to display a red box when I'm on battery, and a green when on AC.

Thanks!

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: dbarton

Since no one knew an actual program to suggest, I ended up just writing a program to display a red box when I'm on battery, and a green when on AC.

Thanks!

Ironic that you can write such a program, but not even know if you are plugged in!

 

[dbarton]

Not sure I see the irony. When I first plugged in the laptop and started, the power plug must not have been in far enough, and I was on battery the whole time. Maybe the message never came up then.

The reality is that when you are on stage in front of people, you are in a zone, and a tiny little popup box on your screen is not something you notice.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

wouldnt it have been easier to write a program that will automatically submit questions to ATOT whenever you have a problem?

honestly, i would have just build a robot who's sole function is to precisely insert power cables and hold in place so I would never have to worry about this happening again

 

[Nothinman]

Originally posted by: dbarton
Not sure I see the irony. When I first plugged in the laptop and started, the power plug must not have been in far enough, and I was on battery the whole time. Maybe the message never came up then.

The reality is that when you are on stage in front of people, you are in a zone, and a tiny little popup box on your screen is not something you notice.

No doubt you're right that once you start the talk you're going to miss things like that. But I can't remember the last time I plugged in a laptop and didn't verify that the little battery icon turned into a plug in the Windows notification area just to be sure.

 

[dbarton]

I agree it's silly to not have checked it, but hindsite is 20/20.
I have been doing it for many years and never made that mistake before.

(and I've just now discovered the power cable is intermittent, so assuming it said "on AC" when first was plugged in)

 

[Zensal]

Well, good on you for taking charge and writing the program. Most people would just keep whining about it.