First time notebook owner looking for information

Hey, I bought a refurb Precision M4400 last week, it has a T9400, 4 gigs of ram, 250 GB 7200RPM, DVD-ROM, Quadro FX770, WUXGA screen. I have a few questions about general laptop usage and what Dell packages along with their computers.

Are there any guidelines to help extend the life of a battery? I've seen the stuff about storing it in a cool area with a 40-60% charge if it won't be used for a few months. What about day to day practices, such as leaving it plugged in for a weekend. Should I remove the battery if it is going to be plugged into the wall for a while?

Does Dell package anything useful with the computer, such as power management?

I'm pretty experienced with computers, but never owned a notebook. Anything I should watch out for other than common sense things like don't shake it while its on?

I'm planning on formatting it and putting Vista and a few flavors of Linux on. Anything I need to know about the partions? Is there any reason to backup the recovery partition? I was planning on getting rid of it.

Thanks

 

Here is what I can remember: On Li-ion batteries, there is no memory effect. It is better to charge them before they have less than 15% of their energy left. However, you should fully discharge and charge them once a month or so to assure that the estimated runtime remains accurate. When storing them, it is best to keep them at 40% of charge. It shouldn't be empty when storing it somewhere, it will refuse to work should it run FULLY out of energy then. Avoid heat if you can, when you're on mains for some longer time take the battery out. And remember, the battery WILL age, no matter what you do.
Anyone please correct me if I'm wrong on something.

EDIT: I had this link: http://batteryuniversity.com/index.htm lying around.

 

I personally don't believe in the whole removing the battery when it's not in use idea. I prefer to use the laptop as it is designed, but that's just me.

You will get all reinstallation disks (real Windows disk) so it isn't really necessary to keep the recovery partition. One thing that I like about the Latitudes vs the consumer machines is the lack of instant on software. That stuff is a pain to get working properly if you ever reformat.

Greg