I think laptop manufacturers base battery life on the computer being on (sleeping perhaps) with several short, sporadic stints of activity (checking email etc.) Kind of like how cell phone manufacturers state their battery life as well. I've been quite happy with my battery life on my Al 15" PB: 2+ hours. Long enough for a presentation and some mobility...but, lets be realistic it's pretty incredible that a powerful computer such as a G4 1.25 GHz PowerBook can even operate on a battery that small. I can run my machine all day (most of) with several short periods of activity (email etc.). To increase battery duration: see above posts, check your energy settings, turn off Bluetooth and Airport (they're not good for your soft tissue anyway) and don't expect too much from a battery the size of a deck of cards. Only until recently, has battery technology started to make some strides to catch-up with other technologies. You should see the size of the battery on my girlfriend's Sony laptop, it's freakin' huge (only two years old - 20 in computer years) and she's lucky to get an hour out of that puppy. The technology is coming, but for now there's a little catch-up required.