Unfortunately all of the software workarounds (and probably the USB key / iPod trick) "work" by increasing the current through the processor. The Red Sweater Blog link above has some specific details regarding why this is so--the additional load created on the machine by these various techniques is preventing the CPU from entering certain sleep states. This ultimately affects your battery life.
My battery life with whine and no workarounds is 3:30-3:45. Using the software workarounds, it is reduced to ~2:50. This is a very significant dent...especially if I'm just sitting in class taking notes!
For those interested, I started a whine poll. The results are becoming a little more interesting since we've captured over 300 MacBook users so far. I've been receiving some requests for different charts so the data can be analyized better, so it is always improving. Please stop by and fill it out when you have some time.
by Mark — Mar 24
My battery life with whine and no workarounds is 3:30-3:45. Using the software workarounds, it is reduced to ~2:50. This is a very significant dent...especially if I'm just sitting in class taking notes!
For those interested, I started a whine poll. The results are becoming a little more interesting since we've captured over 300 MacBook users so far. I've been receiving some requests for different charts so the data can be analyized better, so it is always improving. Please stop by and fill it out when you have some time.
MacBook Pro Whine Poll