How to get the most out of my batteries?

Alright... might as well ask this while I'm waiting on my machine.

I recently purchased a T60 with 15" UXGA IPS(swapped out by an authorized repair center as per the guy I bought it from), C2D T7200, ATI X1400 GPU, and various other goodies. I'm going to be using this as my main computer throughout the next few years while I'm in school. The machine is coming with an almost brand-new OEM 6-cell battery, I have two new 9-cell batteries(OEM, not Feebay specials) on the way, and a fairly well used T4x Ultrabay battery(which I'm assuming will work as T4x machines will take T6x Ultrabay drives).

Now, I will be working exclusively plugged in when I'm at home, only using battery power when I'm moving between desk/living room. At work, I usually use a mixture; I will run off of battery if I need to use the machine for short periods but m generally plugged in. At school I will be working exclusively off of battery.

So... how can I maximize the life of my batteries? I know this will be hard as I'm going to be constantly using all three. I will be relying on the Ultrabay battery only as a way to swap out main batteries while keeping the machine on, but I may get one or two more later on. Any good tips to keep shuffling through all these batts?

 

By reading the battery guide?

 

well...not much... stop indexing... if on windows 7/ vista use POWERSAVER mode... as it will cut your processor clock speed by half.. (my laptop drops to 1ghz)
it will really help... lower the screen brightness...
but hey if you want to preserve your battery lifespan (how many years before you need to replace it)
with a lithium ion battery you should recharge as much as possible... do not let the battery go lower than 25% unless you REALLY need to...
each time you drain a lithium ion battery (such as you cell phone or ipod) you are practically lowering its capacity...
well.. if anything good luck...
maybe go pick up a cheap eee pc.. and pop in one of those 13,000MAH batteries and get like 15+ hours with it!
the battery from ebay or online is like $80 and a cheap eee pc is like $350

 

That's not true. Things such as charging/discharging the laptop battery in a hot environment is what causes premature life. In fact heat in general for li-ion batteries causes wear. When you charge the battery, the cells also heat up. So the more times you charge it, the faster the life goes. I would disagree that it's better to charge a fully discharged battery than a partially charged one for the simple fact that this will result in less discharge cycles in a given period of time. Also if you are tethered to A/C for a while, take out your battery, they also heat up even if they are fully charged while the laptop is on.

 

Seconded for reading the battery guide. Also it depends what you mean by getting the most out of your batteries. Some people like to leave it in, in case there is a power fluctuation or failure, whereas the battery would act as an UPS. Where I am studying now, the power isn't very clean and I use my battery while plugged in just in case power goes out while I'm working. I prop my notebook up and undervolt to lower temps and leave my battery charged at 100% for when I need to go to class.