Cramped on Land, Big Oil Bets at Sea

Chevron is leasing the Clear Leader, which floats in 4,300 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico, to drill for oil through nearly five miles of rock(Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery).

Big Oil never wanted to be here, in 4,300 feet of water far out in the Gulf of Mexico, drilling through nearly five miles of rock.

It is an expensive way to look for oil. Chevron Corp. is paying nearly $500,000 a day to the owner of the Clear Leader, one of the world's newest and most powerful drilling rigs. The new well off the coast of Louisiana will connect to a huge platform floating nearby, which cost Chevron $650 million to build. The first phase of this oil-exploration project took more than 10 years and cost $2.7 billion -- with no guarantee it would pay off (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery).

Chevron came here, an hour-long helicopter ride south of New Orleans, because so many of the places it would rather be -- big, easily tapped oil fields close to shore -- have become off-limits. Western oil companies have been kicked out of much of the Middle East in recent decades, had assets seized in Venezuela and seen much of the U.S. roped off because of environmental regulations. Their access in Iran is limited by sanctions, in Russia by curbs on foreign investment, in Iraq by violence (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery).

So, Chevron and other major oil companies are moving ever farther from shore in search of oil. That quest is paying off as these companies discover unexpectedly large quantities of oil -- oil that only they have the technology and financial muscle to find and produce (Sony VGP-BPS9 battery).

In May, the first wells from Chevron's latest Gulf of Mexico project came online. The wells are now pumping 125,000 barrels of oil a day, making the project one of the gulf's biggest producers. In September, BP PLC announced what could be the biggest discovery in the gulf in years: a field that could hold three billion barrels (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery).

Beyond the Gulf of Mexico, companies have announced big finds off the coasts of Brazil and Ghana, leading some experts to suggest the existence of a massive oil reservoir stretching across the Atlantic from Africa to South America. Production from deepwater projects -- those in water at least 1,000 feet deep -- grew by 67%, or by about 2.3 million barrels a day, between 2005 and 2008, according to PFC Energy, a Washington consulting firm (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery).

The discoveries come as many of the giant oil fields of the past century are beginning to dry up, and as some experts are warning that global oil production could soon reach a peak and begin to decline. The new deepwater fields represent a huge and largely untapped source of oil, which could help ease fears that the world won't be able to meet demand for energy, which is expected to grow rapidly in coming years (Sony VGN-FZ460E battery).

For oil companies, the discoveries mean something more: After a decade of retreat, large Western energy companies are taking back the lead in the quest to find oil. "A lot of people can get the very easy oil," says George Kirkland, Chevron's vice chairman. "There's just not a lot of it left." (Sony VGP-BPS11 battery)

There are challengers to Big Oil's deepwater dominance. Brazil recently has moved to give a larger share of its offshore oil to its state-run oil company, Petrobras. A handful of smaller companies, such as Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Tullow Oil PLC, have had success offshore, particularly in Ghana, where giants like BP and Exxon Mobil Corp. are now playing catch-up (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ4000 Battery).

The enormous investments of time and money required for such projects have made many experts skeptical that they can ease the long-term pressure on global oil supplies. The scale of the projects means that few smaller companies have the resources to take them on. Devon Energy Corp., an independent producer based in Oklahoma City, recently announced plans to abandon its deepwater-exploration business to focus on less-expensive onshore projects, which is says will produce a better return (Sony VGP-BPS10 battery).

"This is technology capable of going to the moon," says Robin West, chairman of consulting firm PFC Energy, involving "extraordinary uncertainty, immense levels of information processing, staggering amounts of capital." (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ21M battery )

Offshore drilling is almost as old as the oil industry itself. In the 1890s, companies began prospecting for oil from piers extending off the beach near Santa Barbara, Calif. Gulf Oil drilled the world's first fully offshore well from cedar pilings on a shallow lake near Oil City, La., in 1911 (Sony VGN-FZ150E battery).

From there, the industry pushed gradually outward, from the Louisiana bayous in the 1920s into the Gulf of Mexico, where Kerr McGee drilled the first well out of sight of land in 1947.

The push into deeper water has come in the past decade.

"What has enabled us to do that is technology," says David Rainey, BP's head of exploration for the Gulf of Mexico. "We have been pushing the limits of seismic-imaging technology and drilling technology." (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ18M battery)

Perhaps a bigger reason for the recent emphasis on deepwater exploration is that companies had few other places to go. In the early decades of oil exploration, Western companies were the only ones with the technology to manage big oil projects. But as technology spread and state-run oil companies became more sophisticated, foreign governments have relied less on outside help and have demanded greater control of their own oil resources (Toshiba PA3535U-1BRS battery).

With a few exceptions, state-run companies have largely stayed out of the deep water, with its enormous technical challenges and multibillion-dollar investment requirements. Western companies have steadily pushed farther offshore, not just in the Gulf of Mexico but in places like Nigeria, Malaysia, Norway and Australia (Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS battery).

At the same time, traditional oil fields have begun to dry up. In Mexico, the world's seventh-largest oil producer, daily production has dropped 23% since 2004 as output from its giant Cantarell field fell sharply. Other countries have seen their own, mostly smaller, declines (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery).

Falling output from old fields has stoked fears that world-wide production could be nearing its peak. Global oil reserves -- a measure of oil that has been found but not yet produced -- fell in 2008 for the first time in a decade, according to BP's annual statistical review. Moreover, there are signs demand could soon catch up to supply. Global oil consumption has risen by 5.4 million barrels a day in the past five years, while production has risen by just 4.8 million barrels a day (Toshiba PA3399U-1BRS battery).

Such fears helped drive a rapid run-up in oil prices to nearly $150 a barrel in July 2008. The global recession cooled demand, driving down prices, although many experts expect prices to rise again when the economy recovers. Already, prices have rebounded to about $80 a barrel, from under $35 in December 2008 (Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS battery).

Rising prices have spurred offshore exploration. By 2008, about 8% of global oil production came from deepwater fields.

Campfire review: a new user's experience

We've just started using 37signals Campfire collaboration software for a client. They wanted a private chatroom where a group of individuals could have online discussions and upload files to share. It was a fairly corporate organisation, and so needed to be fairly straightforward - no fancy avatars or smileys are necessary. Campfire seemed to fit the bill very well, so we signed up and the discussions got going (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery).

It's been an interesting experience. As ever with new stuff, there's good and bad points. So, how did it go?

Set-up
It's all web-based so setting up an account is easy enough. I asked some support questions by email and within 8 hours a helpful response came back. No technical skill is required (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery).

Follow up:

However the first issue arose when I came to upload the client's list of participants to the chatroom. Bizarrely, every single invitee needs to be individually invited to the chatroom, using a web form. What's more, once the form is submitted, an admin then has to select each new member and manually give them access to the chatroom (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery). There's no way to do this automatically, for example by uploading a CSV file or by allowing every new member a default set of permissions. With this client organisation having over 500 members this was a big problem for us, and we resolved it by inviting them all to email me if they wanted access - on the (correct) assumption that many would not bother. So the first stumbling-block reduced the number of participants significantly, and meant a lot of duplicated work for the site admin. This wasn't very good, and it's hard to see why Campfire is set up this way (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery).

Chatting away merrily
Members did start coming forward, and the chat was a successful one, with the client happy with the way it was going. There's no doubt that once people get on the Campfire system, it is a very easy and straightforward one to use. The interface is refreshingly simple and uncluttered and allows the benefit of private online chat without making corporate clients feel too intimidated by the 'social media' environment - although for some reason you can play sounds using text commands. A range of different people of different technical abilities were able to participate, and it all seemed to work smoothly (Sony VGN-FZ460E battery).

If we'd actually managed to get all 500 people online, though, I did wonder how manageable the chat would be. Visually, there's nothing to distinguish all the other participants on the page except their names. Your own contributions are highlighted, as are system messages, but all the other chat looks the same. With more than 5 or 6 people online at any one time this might be tricky. Luckily for us we never got to find that out (Sony VGN-FZ150E battery).

Also, the chat in this instance needed also to be on record, as people would come and go and others would want to read their contributions. Going back to look at past chat sessions was possible, but fairly clumsy: you get to look at a whole day's worth. Again, with a handful of users this was manageable, but with more than say 10 or 20 active users over time this would be a difficult business that many would not bother to do (Toshiba PA3535U-1BRS battery).

Not for old-skool browsers
Another hitch was revealed later, when it turned out that Campfire doesn't work for Internet Explorer 6. Well, hardly surprising, as IE6 went out with the ark, but given that this product seems to be aimed at the corporate market this was a surprise, and a disappointment. Actually, the Campfire website did warn us about it, but we hadn't noticed that. Bother! Although it did give us an opportunity to encourage participants to persuade their employer to use Firefox (Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS battery).

Conclusions
A good, robust, simple product that works as described. For a freebie, this is worth every penny and recommended. 37signals has a reputation for simple, web-based software that works, and that's what was delivered here (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery).

As a pay-for product, Campfire was a little disappointing though. It's definitely not set up to scale for larger groups, which is odd considering its payment structure. A bit of refinement might make it a lot easier to administer, and more attractive to the corporate clients that presumably might form an important market for the application (Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS battery).

Banteay Chhmar: A Temple & Community Re-Discovered

Built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII and situated some 15km from the Thai border, Banteay Chhmar is often compared to the more well known Angkor Thom in size and structure. The complex is full of sandstone bas-reliefs that tell stories of ancient Cambodian battles (Toshiba PA3535U-1BRS battery).

The bas-reliefs along the surrounding wall of the temple are some of the finest in Cambodia. Yet the stories are incomplete due to sustained looting, which continued as late as 2002. Huge sections of the outer wall have been chiselled away, and are now scattered around the world in private collections. While the loss is felt as you wander around the massive complex, it also drives home the importance of visitors to this remote site. These tourist dollars are helping with the current preservation of the temple and improving the livelihood of the surrounding villages (Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS battery).

Global Heritage Fund (GHF), a non-profit organisation based in California, specialises in tying conservation of historical sites to the needs of the local community to make tourism relevant and profitable, while ensuring local inhabitants are stewards of their own heritage. James Hooper, the manager of Global Heritage Fund UK and International Project Development specialist, sees great potential in Banteay Chhmar (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery).

Banteay Chhmar is a perfect example of how Global Heritage Fund works with local groups to build sustainable tourist infrastructure, says Hooper. Through their partnership with the Community Based Tourism (CBT) office, Global Heritage Fund has been able to speed along the conservation work by providing the technical know-how and needed funding. Additionally, it assists with emergency structural issues within the complex. Years of shifting earth, some looting and the advancing trees have taken their toll on Banteay Chhmar. It feels as though the forest is reclaiming the temple for itself (Toshiba PA3399U-1BRS battery).

GHF wants to create temporary, low-impact viewing platforms, so guests can see the complex from a bird’s eye view. The platforms would allow visitors a safe way to experience the heart of the temple, which currently is inaccessible because of unstable stone structures. Hooper explains that these temporary structures work well because they avoid heavy construction which could do long term damage to the site. For now, visitors walk on the ground amongst the ruins, witnessing the temple as westerner explorers first discovered it (Toshiba PA3399U-1BRS battery).

The local community has a clear list of plans needed to improve services to tourists. According to Sophal That of the CBT, about 40 percent of visitors spend a night in one of the villages’ six homestay locations, the only overnight option. The homestays make up just a part of the CBT?s infrastructure around the Banteay Chhmar complex. The rest of the 74 council members are part of the hospitality network for visitors, which includes ox cart rides, silk weaving, woodcarving, traditional music concerts, rice wine distillation, beekeeping, bike tours and the women’s cooking group. The later are trained by Sala Bai and the 5 star Hotel de la Paix in Siem Reap. An ox cart ride to visit some of the local small-scale businesses provides an interesting (but bumpy) two-hour addition to the main reason for your visit (Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS battery).

Future plans include English lessons for the tour guides and homestay families, improving the homestay facilities, establishing a CBT-run restaurant, and simpler transportation around Banteay Chhmar. Hooper has complete faith in his counterparts. We’ve never questioned their business sense, he says. For us, it’s all about training them to be ready for the changes that are coming down the line (Toshiba PA3465U-1BRS battery) .

And change will come. A sealed road is planned to start construction this year with a completion date hovering around 2012, at which point the villages of Banteay Chhmar will be a mere hour-and-a-half drive from Siem Reap or Battambang. This opens the day-trip potential for large groups coming out of Siem Reap (Toshiba PA3450U-1BRS battery).

While more tourists are exactly what the community needs, busloads may be unfortunate. The isolation is what gives Banteay Chhmar its charm currently no matter what time of day you visit, you are likely to be the only visitors. For the time being, there is no waiting for the hordes to move so you can snap a photo without people. There are no tuk tuks, no elephants, no mega-buses. There is just the temple, nature and friendly people there to help. All this makes now the right time for a visit (Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS battery ).

The Li-Polymer battery: substance or hype?

The word ‘Lithium Polymer’ has become synonymous with advanced battery technology. But what is the relationship between ‘polymer’ and the classic Lithium Ion battery? In this article we examine the basic differences between the Li-ion and Li-ion polymer battery. We look at packaging techniques and evaluate the cost-to-energy ratio of these batteries (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery).

The Li-polymer differs from other battery systems in the type of electrolyte used. The original design, which dates back to the 1970s, uses a polymer electrolyte. This electrolyte resembles a plastic-like film that does not conduct electricity but allows the exchange of ions (electrically charged atoms or groups of atoms). The polymer electrolyte replaces the traditional porous separator, which is soaked with electrolyte (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery).

The dry polymer design offers simplifications with respect to fabrication, ruggedness, safety and thin-profile profile. There is no danger of flammability because no liquid or gelled electrolyte is used (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery).

With a cell thickness measuring as little as one millimeter (0.039 inches), design engineers are left to their own imagination in terms of form, shape and size. Theoretically, it is possible to create designs which form part of a protective housing, are in the shape of a mat that can be rolled up, or are even embedded into a carrying case or a piece of clothing. Such innovative batteries are still a few years away, especially for the commercial market (Sony VGP-BPS9 battery).

Unfortunately, the dry Li-polymer suffers from poor conductivity. The internal resistance is too high and cannot deliver the current bursts needed for modern communication devices and spinning up the hard drives of mobile computing equipment. Although heating the cell to 60°C (140°F) and higher increases the conductivity to acceptable levels. This requirement, however, is unsuitable for portable applications (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery).

Some dry solid Li-polymers are currently used in hot climates as standby batteries for stationary applications. One manufacturer has added heating elements in the cells that keep the battery in the conductive temperature range at all times. Such a battery performs well for the application intended because high ambient temperatures do not degrade the service life of this battery in the same way as it does with the VRLA type. Although longer lasting, the cost of the Li-polymer battery is high (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery).

Engineers are continuing to develop a dry solid Li-polymer battery that performs at room temperature. A dry solid Li-polymer version is anticipated by 2005. This battery should be very stable; would run 1000 full cycles and would have higher energy densities than today’s Li‑ion battery (Sony VGN-FZ150E battery).

How then is the current Li-polymer battery made conductive at ambient temperatures? Most of the commercial Li-polymer batteries or mobile phones are a hybrid. Some gelled electrolyte has been added to the dry polymer. The correct term for this system is Lithium Ion Polymer. For marketing reasons, most battery manufacturers call it simply Li-polymer. Since the hybrid lithium polymer is the only functioning polymer battery for portable use today, we will focus on this chemistry variation but use the correct term of lithium ion polymer (Li-ion polymer) (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ18M battery).

With gelled electrolyte added, what then is the difference between Li‑ion and Li‑ion polymer? Although the characteristics and performance of the two systems are very similar, the Li‑ion polymer is unique in that the solid electrolyte replaces the porous separator. The gelled electrolyte is simply added to enhance ion conductivity (Toshiba PA3535U-1BRS battery).

The pouch cell

The Li-ion polymer battery is almost exclusively packaged in the so-called ‘pouch cell’. This cell design made a profound advancement in 1995 when engineers succeeded in exchanging the hard shell with flexible, heat-sealable foils. The traditional metallic cylinder and glass-to-metal electrical feed-through has thus been replaced with an inexpensive foil packaging, similar to what is used in the food industry. The electrical contacts consist of conductive foil tabs that are welded to the electrode and sealed to the pouch material. Figure 2 illustrates a typical pouch cell (Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS battery).

The pouch cell concept makes the most efficient use of available space and achieves a packaging efficiency of 90 to 95 percent, the highest among battery packs. Because of the absence of a metal can, the pouch pack has a lower weight. No standardized pouch cells exist, but rather, each manufacturer builds to a special application (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery).

At the present time, the pouch cell is more expensive to manufacture than the cylindrical architecture and the reliability has not been fully proven. The energy density and load current are slightly lower than that of conventional cell designs. The cycle life in everyday applications is not well documented but is, at present, less than that of the Li‑ion system with cylindrical cell design (Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS battery).

A critical issue with the pouch cell is swelling, which occurs when gas is generated during charging or discharging. Battery manufacturers insist that Li‑ion or Polymer cells do not generate gas if properly formatted, are charged at the correct current and are kept within allotted voltage levels. When designing the protective housing for a pouch cell, some provision for swelling must be taken into account. To alleviate the swelling issue when using multiple cells, it is best not to stack pouch cells, but lay them flat side-by-side (Toshiba PA3465U-1BRS battery) .

The pouch cell is highly sensitive to twisting. Point pressure must also be avoided. The protective housing must be designed to safeguard the cell from mechanical stress.

The cost of being slim

The slimmer the battery profile, the higher the cost–to-energy ratio becomes. By far the most economical lithium-based battery is the cylindrical 18650 cell. ‘Eighteen’ denotes the diameter in millimeters and ‘650’ describes the length in millimeters. The new 18650 cell has a capacity 2000mAh. The larger 26650 cell has a diameter of 26 mm and delivers 3200mAh (Toshiba PA3450U-1BRS battery).

The disadvantage of the cylindrical cell is bulky size and less than maximum use of space. When stacking, air cavities are formed. Because of fixed cell sizes, the battery pack must be designed around the available cell (Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS battery ).

If a thinner profile than 18 mm is required, the prismatic Li‑ion cell is the best choice. The cell concept was developed in the early 1990s in response to consumer demand for slimmer pack sizes. The prismatic cell makes almost maximum use of space when stacking (IBM ThinkPad R50 battery).

The disadvantage of the prismatic cell is slightly lower energy densities compared to the cylindrical equivalent. In addition, the prismatic cell is more expensive to manufacture and does not provide the same mechanical stability enjoyed by the cylindrical cell. To prevent bulging when pressure builds up, heavier gauge metal is used for the container. The manufacturer allows some degree of bulging when designing the battery pack (IBM ThinkPad R60 battery).

The prismatic cell is offered in limited sizes and chemistries and the capacities run from about 400mAh to 2000mAh. Because of the very large quantities required for mobile phones, custom prismatic cells are built to fit certain models (IBM ThinkPad R51 battery).

If the design requirements demand less than 4 mm, the best (and perhaps the only choice) is Li‑ion polymer. This is the most expensive option. The cost-to-energy ratio more than doubles. The benefit of this architecture is strictly slim geometry. There is little or no gain in energy density per weight and size over the 18650, even though the metal housing has been eliminated (IBM ThinkPad X41 Tablet battery).

Summary

The Li-ion polymer offers little or no energy gain over conventional Li‑ion systems; neither do the slim profile Li-ion systems meet the cycle life of the rugged 18560 cell. The cost-to-energy ration increases as the cell size decreases in thickness. Cost increases in the multiple of three to four compared to the 18650 cell are common on exotic slim battery designs(Sony Vaio VGN-FZ21M battery ).

If space permitted, the 18650 cell offers the most economical choice, both in terms of energy per weight and longevity. Applications for this cell are mobile computing and video cameras. Slimming down means thinner batteries. This, in turn, will make the cost of the portable power more expensive (Sony VGN-FZ460E battery).

Getting the most of your batteries

A common difficulty with portable equipment is the gradual decline in battery performance after the first year of service. Although fully charged, the battery eventually regresses to a point where the available energy is less than half of its original capacity(Toshiba PA3535U-1BRS battery).

Rechargeable batteries are known to cause more concern, grief and frustration than any other component of a portable device. Given its relatively short life span, the battery is also one of the most expensive and least reliable parts. In many ways, a battery exhibits human-like characteristics: it needs good nutrition, prefers moderate room temperature and with the nickel-based system, requires regular exercise to prevent the phenomenon called 'memory'(Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS battery).

How to restore and prolong nickel-based batteries

When nickel-based batteries are mentioned, the word 'memory' comes to mind. Memory was originally derived from 'cyclic memory', meaning that a Nickel-cadmium (NiCd) battery could remember how much energy was required and would provide similar amounts on subsequent discharges. Improvements in battery technology have virtually eliminated this phenomenon. The modern term of 'memory' is a crystalline formation that robs the battery of its capacity. Applying one or several full discharge cycles can commonly reverse this effect (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery).

The active cadmium material of a NiCd battery is present in finely divided crystals. In a good cell, these crystals remain small, obtaining maximum surface area. Memory causes the crystals to grow, reducing the surface area. In advanced stages, the sharp edges of the crystals may penetrate the separator, initiating high self-discharge or an electrical short (Toshiba PA3399U-1BRS battery).

The effect of crystalline formation is most visible if a NiCd battery is left in the charger for days, or if repeatedly recharged without a periodic full discharge. Since most applications do not use up all energy before recharge, a periodic discharge to 1V/cell (known as exercise) is essential to prevent memory (Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS battery).

All NiCd batteries in regular use and on standby mode (sitting in a charger for operational readiness) should be exercised once per month. Between these monthly exercise cycles, no further service is needed and the battery can be used with any desired user pattern without memory concern (Toshiba PA3465U-1BRS battery) .

If no exercise is applied to a NiCd for three months or more, the crystals ingrain themselves, making them more difficult to break up. In such a case, exercise may no longer be effective in restoring a battery and reconditioning is required. Recondition is a secondary discharge that slowly removes the remaining battery energy by draining the cells to virtually zero volts. NiCd batteries can tolerate a small amount of cell reversal. During deep discharge, caution must be applied to stay within the allowable current limit to minimize cell reversal (Toshiba PA3450U-1BRS battery).

When Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) was introduced in the early 1990s, there was much publicity about its memory-free status. Today we know that NiMH also suffers from memory but to a lesser extent than NiCd. No scientific research is available that specifies optimal maintenance. Applying a full discharge once every three months appears right. Because of the shorter service life, over-exercising of NiMH is not recommended (Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS battery ).

Simple Guidelines

1. Do not leave a nickel-based battery in a charger for more than a day with the 'ready' light on. It is better to remove the battery from the charger and applying a charge before use.
2. Apply periodic discharge cycles. Running the battery down in the equipment may do this also.
3. It is not necessary to discharge the battery before each charge. This would put undue stress on the battery (Sony VGN-FZ150E battery).
4.Avoid elevated temperature. The battery should cool off and remain at ambient temperature after full-charge.
5.Use high quality chargers.

The effect of zapping

Remote control (RC) racing enthusiasts have experimented with all imaginable methods to maximize battery performance. One technique that seems to work is zapping the cells with a very high pulse current. Zapping is said to increase the cell voltage by 20 to 40mV under a 30A load. According to experts, the voltage gain is stable; only a small drop is observed with usage and age (IBM ThinkPad R50 battery).

During the race, the motor draws 30A from a 7.2V battery. This calculates to over 200W or close to a quarter HP of power. The race lasts about four minutes.

According to experts, zapping works best with NiCd cells. NiMH cells have been tried but the results are inconclusive. Zapping is done with a 47,000mF capacitor charged to 90V. Best results are achieved if the battery is cycled twice after treatment, then zapped again. Once in service, zapping no longer improves the cell's performance. Neither does zapping regenerate a cell that has become weak (IBM ThinkPad R60 battery).

Companies specializing in zapping batteries use top quality Japanese-made NiCd cells. The cells are normally sub-C and are handpicked at the factory. Specially labeled, the cells arrive in discharged state with open cell voltages of 1.11 to 1.12V. If below 1.06V, the cell is suspect and zapping does not work well (IBM ThinkPad R51 battery).

There are no apparent side effects to zapping but the battery manufacturers remain non-committal. No scientific explanation is available and only little is known on the longevity of the cells after treatment (IBM ThinkPad X41 Tablet battery).

What is flash cache?

A Flash cache acts like SRAM memory caches that are designed to speed up DRAM access times; Flash caches speed access to HDDs in an analogous manner. Data is drawn from HDDs as needed and the retrieved data is cached in NAND Flash. The next time this data is needed, it?s drawn directly from the cache instead of the slower HDD. Flash caches do not require as much NAND Flash memory as SSDs, and therefore cost less, but they can deliver significant performance improvements when paired with HDDs?in fact the effective performance of a Flash cache paired with an HDD can actually exceed that of an SSD (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery).

(Note: It’s also possible to use DRAM to cache HDD data, but DRAM is more expensive than NAND Flash for equivalent capacity and DRAM provides only volatile storage unless you add a backup battery. For these reasons, NAND Flash is the better choice for an HDD memory cache .)( (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery)\ (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery)\ (Sony VGP-BPS9 battery))

Using a faster memory technology as a cache for a slower-yet-cheaper memory technology is a relatively common technique used by computer designers. Designers have always faced memory access-time problems and caching is a very, very common solution to this problem. If the typical working set is a small fraction of the total HDD capacity, then a cache that holds that working set will make the HDD appear to be as fast (or almost as fast) as NAND Flash memory, resulting in a dramatic improvement in application performance (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery).

Adding a cache can deliver significant performance gains for I/O-intensive workloads but it?s critical to make the cache invisible to the application to avoid rewriting the application code. You make a Flash cache invisible by intimately integrating it into the operating system and the file system (Sony VGN-FZ460E battery). This is a critical step because it sidesteps the need to rewrite the application so that it need not decide what goes where. Application code must explicitly manage code and data placement in storage when a system employs a mix of HDDs and faster, Flash-based SSDs but not if the Flash memory is configured as a cache. If you can write or rewrite an application so that it explicitly controls where data is stored, then a mix of SSDs and HDDs can be used effectively. NAND Flash cache used to accelerate HDD performance solves a more common problem?a problem ingrained in all existing application programs that are not written for an explicit SSD/HDD storage hierarchy (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ18M battery).

The question is: Is there a practical working set that’s a small subset of a computer?s total disk capacity? Intel’s Amber Huffman presented some very interesting data in 2008. Intel tracked five employee power users and observed how they used data over successive time periods (IBM ThinkPad R50 battery). Four out of five of these power users used no more than 6 Gbytes of data for a working set in a typical 10-hour work period. A 6-Gbyte NAND Flash cache is easily and economically achievable today. It?s not an incredibly expensive amount of NAND Flash memory. With the right parallelism designed into the cache, you can get the required access time, throughput, and capacity to make a huge improvement in application performance by masking the HDD?s access time with a relatively small Flash cache (IBM ThinkPad R60 battery).

Here?s a different example from the Enterprise world that demonstrates the advantages of using Flash memory to cache HDD storage. Pliant Technology, a vendor of high-speed Flash Enterprise SSDs, studied a typical data warehouse. The company compared high-end disk arrays composed of fast, enterprise-class, short-stroked HDDs against a hybrid array of four SSDs and many low cost HDDs (not short-stroked). Pliant?s hybrid drive array dramatically increased available disk capacity and performance versus the conventional short-stroked HDD array. The disk capacity per rack shelf increased by almost an order of magnitude, while the IOPS performance increased 6.5x (IBM ThinkPad R51 battery).

Note that the cost per rack shelf also increased significantly, but this increase was compensated by a corresponding decrease in the number of shelves required for storage. The key figures of merit for this example:

• total storage-system cost decreased by 50%
• cost per IOPS decreased 50%
• the cost per gigabyte of storage improved, and
• the hybrid disk array required one eighth the power to operate and cool compared to the amount of power needed to operate and cool the array of fast, short-stroked HDDs?nearly an order of magnitude improvement in power consumption.

So NAND Flash memory used as a disk cache whether for low-end applications or enterprise installations shows great promise (IBM ThinkPad X41 Tablet battery).

Toshiba's Best Color Copiers Yet!

Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. (TABS) announced today the immediate availability of the fastest, most advanced color multifunction product (MFP) family in the company’s history with the release of the Toshiba e-STUDIO?5520c/5520CT/6520c/6520CT/6530c/6530CT series. Designed and manufactured entirely in-house by Toshiba (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery), this new line of high-speed color MFPs includes a laundry-list of new and innovative features, including color print speed up to 65 pages-per-minute (PPM), the new Self-Refresh Development System, increasingly versatile paper handling options, and instant scanning to and printing from a portable USB memory drive. Additionally, multi-user offices and high-volume printing environments can continue to improve productivity with Toshiba’s next generation e-BRIDGE’ controller for efficient processing and multi-tasking, while the Easily Replaceable Unit design that keeps maintenance downtime to an absolute minimum(Sony VGP-BPS8 battery).

For those office applications that require a larger paper capacity, the e-STUDIO5520CT/6520CT/6530CT line shares all the same product features as the e-STUDIO5520c/6520c/6530c series, with the added convenience of tandem 2,320-sheet large capacity feeder, increasing 4,760 from 4-drawer to 6,000 on tandem (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery).

?Businesses today use color for more than just the occasional report or spreadsheet; our customers are increasingly integrating color into their day-to-day printed documents,? said Joseph Contreras, director, Product and Solutions Marketing, TABS. When Toshiba began developing the new e-STUDIO5520c/6520c/6530c series and their tandem drawer variants, our goal was to create an enterprise-level color MFP that retained the high print speeds of a traditional monochrome product, while delivering exceptional image quality and high document security. We continue to push the boundaries in printing options, accessibility and ease of use and this new color line proves that Toshiba continually delivers on leading innovation(Sony VGP-BPS9 battery)?

Toshiba?s Fastest Color MFP, Period

Toshiba?s new e-STUDIO5520c/6520c/6530c series of color MFPs are the fastest and most advanced color product line the company has ever created. Its clean-sheet design takes a radical new approach responding to the needs of today?s high-volume users, multi-user offices and lightweight production environments (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery). The e-STUDIO5520c/6520c/6530c series can print color at the speed of business, with the e-STUDIO5520c producing color documents at 55 pages-per-minute (PPM), and the faster e-STUDIO6520c/6530c capable of 65 color PPM, with a first copy out time of less than seven seconds, providing fast color printing to businesses with moderate output needs. Additionally, the series has exceptional monochrome print speeds of 55, 65 and 75 PPM respectively (IBM ThinkPad X41 Tablet battery). Utilizing Toshiba?s leading-edge enhanced laser image technology (e-Fine), these new color MFPs deliver best-in-class color clarity and rich text renditions in all scanning, printing and copying jobs. The entire line supports print resolutions of 1,200 x 1,200 dots-per-inch (dpi) and 10-bit scanning resolutions of 600 x 600 dpi, allowing the e-STUDIO5520c/6520c/6530c series to provide razor sharp text and superior graphic detail in all printed documents (Sony VGN-FZ460E battery).

Unique Toner and Developer Delivery System

Unlike traditional color MFPs on the market, the Toshiba e-STUDIO5520c/6520c/6530c line does not require regularly-scheduled changing or refilling of developer. Thanks to Toshiba?s unique Self-Refresh (SR) Development System (IBM ThinkPad R51 battery), new developer is introduced into the machine through the newly-designed imaging cartridge, virtually eliminating the need to refresh or change the developer for the projected life of the MFPs. And because the developer remains constant, the e-STUDIO5520c/6520c/6530c series delivers the same bright, vibrant color printing and exceptional image quality throughout the PM cycle (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ4000 Battery).

Highly Secure Next Generation e-BRIDGE Controller

Toshiba?s next generation e-BRIDGE controller takes document security to the next level by featuring integrated Advanced Encryption Standard hard disk encryption, IPv6, IPSec, SNMPv3 and 802.1x authentication, protecting the document workflow all the way to the network. The e-STUDIO5520c/6520c/6530c series also includes Encrypted PDF (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ18M battery), enabling users to password-protect documents when creating scanned PDFs, to prevent unauthorized viewing or printing. For an additional level of protection, the e-STUDIO5520c/6520c/6530c series? standard 80GB integrated hard drive can be outfitted with the optional Data Overwrite Kit, ensuring that digital scans saved on the internal hard drive are completely eliminated after the print job is completed (Toshiba PA3535U-1BRS battery).

Intuitive Operation, Easy Access and Versatile Paper Options

The e-STUDIO5520c/6520c/6530c series features a large, adjustable 10.4 Super VGA touch screen for quick and easy access to copying, printing, scanning, faxing and e-filing features. The back-lit, adjustable color screen allows for quick MFP function access with large, easy-to-read icons and simple (Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS battery), step-by-step directions available at the user?s fingertips. The entire color line also allows users to scan directly to, or print directly from a USB flash storage drive in popular office file formats, including PDF, JPEG and Windows Vista XPS. The e-STUDIO5520c/6520c/6530c expands the typical role of an office color MFP beyond the standard paper size, with the ability to support full-color banner printing of sizes as large as 12 inches wide and 47 inches long (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery).

Toner and Paper Replacement Without Workflow Interruption

Toshiba?s new Easily Replaceable Unit (ERU) technology ensures that the e-STUDIO5520c, e-STUDIO6520c and e-STUDIO6530c products stay running at full capacity, even when the products need their consumable supplies refreshed. As part of the series? new design, the toner and paper cartridges are readily accessible and can be changed or serviced while the unit is in use. The ERU system keeps document workflow at a consistent rate (Toshiba PA3399U-1BRS battery). Coupled with an estimated monthly print duty cycle of 225,000, 250,000 and 275,000 sheets respectively, the entire series provides large corporations and office production managers the peace of mind that, no matter how big or complex the print job, it can be completed without interruption (Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS battery).

Integrated Windows Vista Support

Building on its long-standing relationship with Microsoft, the e-STUDIO5520c/6520c/6530c MFP series provides Windows Vista-specific printing enhancements in the form of XPS Print Path drivers, Windows Color System support and Windows Vista WS print and scan support, while remaining 100 percent backwards-compatible with existing deployments. This XPS format integration offers full printer functionality and enables users to print 2007 Microsoft Office system documents directly to the MFP without the wasted overhead of file conversion (Toshiba PA3465U-1BRS battery) .

IBM's BEDL Analysis

I could not agree more with these introductory statements about modern BPM:

data is treated mostly as an afterthought. Activities and their flows are the main abstractions and the data manipulated by the processes is essentially hidden in process variables... (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ18M battery)

Business Entities provide a new basis for specifying business operations that combines data and process at a fundamental level...

A Business Entity includes both an information model for data about the business objects during their lifetime, and a lifecycle model, which describes the possible ways and timings that tasks can be invoked and performed on these objects... (Toshiba PA3535U-1BRS battery)

The lifecycle models are specified using finite state machines, where each state of the machine corresponds intuitively to a business-relevant milestone, or operational objective, that might be achieved by a Business Entity instance. Business Entities define a useful way to understand and track business operations... (Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS battery)

four essential aspects of Business Entities: information model, (macro-level) lifecycle model, access policies based on role and lifecycle state, and notifications of state and data change events...

I like the general structure of the BE metamodel. However, I do find the Lifecycle part kind of weak. I would expect that even at this stage the team would understand and master the need for concepts such as pre/post conditions as well as pre/post actions (not just events, even though events are great of course). Introducing a "pure" state machine concept here is not going to drive the specification very far. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to see a company like IBM scouting the link between Business Entities (and BELs) and BPM (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery).

As you can guess, the part that I really, absolutely, positively don't like is the link with BPEL. Frank Leymann continues propagating his legacy of force fitting an orchestration-based programming language into a "Business Process Whatever Language". It is impressive to see, even here, IBM feels obligated to honor this deeply flawed legacy, nearly 10 years after BPEL/BPML set foot in our industry. To reiterate my position, BPEL is a perfect implementation language for Business Entity Lifecycles, BPEL does not sit on top of BEDL, it sits within (Toshiba PA3399U-1BRS battery). IBM sees BEDL as a set of rules and constraints, not behavior. Yes, the Business Operation Model sections explains:

[A software component supporting BEDL (a BDEL engine if you will) supports] Request to execute a transition of a Business Entity instance from one state to another: This enables a process to move a Business Entity from one state to another. This includes the creation of a BE instance, that is, moving it from the initial state to another state. If the state change request violates the given BE lifecycle, an invalidState fault is thrown. If an access policy concerning guards is violated, an inconsistentData fault is thrown (Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS battery).

Yet, they explain later (can IBM do something without a database lock? -guys we are in 2010):

In a typical interaction between a WS-BPEL process and a BEDL component, a process will request to lock parts of one or more BE instances, access and possibly modify some of the attribute values held by the instance, possibly request a state transition, and then release the locks on the BE instances (Toshiba PA3450U-1BRS battery).

Unfortunately, I fundamentally disagree with that "orchestrated process" view of the world. As I explained several times and recently in my discussion with Keith Swenson, a process is observed, not executed. It is the mere flow of activities performed to transition BEs from one state to another (but controlled by BEL definitions) that can be represented by a process definition (expressed in BPMN). BPEL has nothing to do with "business processes" and will never have anything to do with it because a process is not orchestrated. This view of the world actually eliminates all the positive side effects of adopting a BEL view. BELs can be maintained and versioned very easily without disrupting in flight BELs, which is not the case of processes (Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS battery ).

I'll pass on the BEDL language itself, I have no idea why someone would write a specification with just state and transitions, this is beyond simplistic. It is almost insulting to the readers (IBM ThinkPad R50 battery).

The authors introduce yet another BPEL extensions BPEL4Data, to annotate BPEL definitions with BEDL semantics (states and what not). BPEL is so "extended" that one could finally conclude that its design was completely flawed. Thinking that a "Business Process Whatever Language" needs extensions to deal with Human tasks or Process Data is not just comical, it is ludicrous, and we have not even started to talk about B2B Collaborations (IBM ThinkPad R60 battery).

The REST section makes sense to me, this is what I have tried to explain to the RESTafarians for 3 years now:

Conceptually, Business Entities can be made accessible as REST resources. In the BPM context, the states of Business Entities reflect the progression of business data as it is “touched” by business processes. Thus, the lifecycle of the Business Entity provides a layer of business-relevant governance around the CRUD access of the generic resources managed through the Business Entity. Note we are drawing an analogy to the enablement of the REST “style” with Business Entities. This is independent and unrelated to the usage of REST as a data access protocol. How Business Entities enable REST-style BPM is discussed in more detail in (IBM ThinkPad R51 battery).

Stu? Do you see the light now? Or are we still stuck at the "uniform interface" / CRUD level?

So in all, I have mixed feelings about this new initiative. There is the part of me that say, Yes ! Finally, BPM is going to grow up, a unified Service Oriented, Process Centric, Model Driven programming model is going to emerge quickly from this work and there is the part of me that say, No ! not again, why is IBM stuck on BPEL as a "Business Process Programming Language"? So I don't know where things are going to go (IBM ThinkPad X41 Tablet battery). I would have liked to see a more complete Lifecycle definition, based on an explicit programming model, not just a State/Machine definition, this is way too weak to be useful. I also would have liked to see a direct connection between (human) activities and transitions between states. I am not sure why they go through so much work to publish something as simplistic and flawed as this paper. We are in 2010, guys, this is not 1995. That spec could have been written 15 years ago and even look a bit sexy, in 2010, this is just an homeopathic dose of Business Entity in an ocean of BPEL (ASUS Eee PC 900 Battery).

The Severe Recession of 1920 ? The Forgotten Economic Downturn

When people discuss the history of America’s difficult economic times during the 20th century, the Great Depression and stagflation in the 1970s will always be mentioned. However, one of the more severe recessions America has endured is rarely discussed. Until recently, this period in time received very little publicity. The reason why the history of this recession is so relevant today is because the measures that were taken to revive the economy were sharply different than what was done during the Great Depression and all of the notable ensuing economic downturns with the exception of President Ronald Reagan’s approach (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery).

President Obama has just signed the single largest spending bill in America’s history into law. Americans have been told repeatedly since the day Obama was sworn in how urgent it is that this legislation is passed. He consistently refers to the current recession as the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. If only top-notch economists had that same crystal ball... The severity of this recession should not be dismissed. However, a comparison to the Great Depression is premature at this juncture (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery).

All throughout the campaign, Obama promised that there would be transparency and bipartisanship in his administration. Instead, the single largest spending bill in America’s history was not made available to the public until after it was signed into law, lawmakers had less than 24 hours to read a bill that exceeded 1,100 pages prior to voting, and the voting was almost straight down party lines. In addition, only the lawmakers from the far left wing of the Democratic Party had substantial input (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery).

This economic crisis is so severe, the administration just didn’t have the time to debate and seek input from those who have a different point of view and would propose different solutions. If the time had been taken to review the alternative solutions, then perhaps top economists would have reminded the Obama Administration of the 1920 recession and the government’s response (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ21M battery ).

When President Warren Harding was elected, he inherited a deepening recession. The most important aspect that separates Harding response from President Hoover, Roosevelt, Carter, Bush (both father and son) and Obama is he did not grow the size of government, spend money recklessly, raise taxes and implement burdensome regulation to address the problem (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ18M battery).

The 1920 recession was not mild, as the country experienced very sharp deflation. The decline in the Gross National Product (GNP) price deflator from 1920 to 1921 was larger than any deflation experienced during the Great Depression. Using the Department of Commerce 1986 estimates, the 1989 Balke & Gordon and Romer estimates, they produce one-year deflation figures of 18 percent, 13 percent and 14.8 percent, respectively. The closest competitor is the 11.5 percent deflation recorded for 1931-32, the third year of the Great Depression (Toshiba PA3535U-1BRS battery).

(1) Unemployment did not reach Great Depression level heights; however, job loss was fairly rapid from 1920 to 1921. Unemployment rose from 5.2 percent to 8.7 percent during that time, and farm income dropped 40 percent (Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS battery).

(2)One can make an argument that the economic downturn from 1919 to 1921 was more severe than the current recession. It’s important to distinguish between future speculation and actual data. Unemployment at the beginning of the downward economic trend (December 2007) was 4.8 percent and is now currently 7.6 percent (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery).

(3) Although the numbers climbed sharply, the pace and decline in income was more severe in 1920. Given the magnitude of the 1920 recession, President Harding could have made a case for government intervention and expansion. Much like the current crisis, commercial banks were failing, property value was declining, and people were losing their jobs and their homes (Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS battery).

President Harding’s response was to let businesses fail, cut government spending, balance the federal budget, reduce taxes and remove burdensome government regulations. How is that for an economic stimulus package? It’s safe to say that if he were running for President in 2008, he would have been laughed off the campaign trail. The media would have destroyed him (Toshiba PA3465U-1BRS battery) .

However, this unsung fiscal hero’s accomplishments are no laughing matter. The Harding and Coolidge (Harding died in office in 1923) Administration cut the top marginal tax rate from 73 percent to 25 percent in four years time. Although Harding dramatically reduced taxes, he was still able to reduce large budget deficits resulting from World War I and eventually run a surplus (IBM ThinkPad R51 battery). This is one of the better cases for the argument that tax cuts increase tax revenue. Federal government spending was cut in half between 1920 and 1922. Harding also believed that burdensome regulation (think of the modern day Sarbanes-Oxley Act) stood in the way of private sector growth (Toshiba PA3450U-1BRS battery).

America’s first experiment with supply side economics was a success. The tax cuts and reduced regulation allowed business to grow capital and create jobs. The reaction by the Harding/Coolidge administration gave way to the Roaring 20s? economic boom among the most rapid periods of economic growth in America?s history. The technological advances made during the 1920s were also among the greatest in America?s history (Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS battery ).

The recession that began in 1920 ended before 1923. Harding’s response makes a very strong case as to why government intervention is not the answer. The Great Depression may not have been so great if a hands off approach were taken. The Great Depression lasted until World War II, and some analysts believe that the war itself ended the Great Depression. Imagine if Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt responded in a similar manner as Harding instead of tripling tax rates, bailing out failed institutions, expanding government to unprecedented levels and imposing massive government regulations. The stagflation coupled with double digit unemployment in the 1970s was brought to an end only when President Reagan reintroduced the supply-side theory (IBM ThinkPad R50 battery).

History has shown us what works, which begs the following question: Why do our elected officials continue to ignore history? The Democrats are determined to prove to the world that FDR was one of America best Presidents regardless of the fact that fiscal history shows otherwise. People did not have history as evidence to illustrate that FDR policies would fail; however this is not the case for President Obama. America will not stand for unemployment that exceeds 20 percent or wait over a decade for measurable results that would stem from a third world war (IBM ThinkPad R60 battery).

The battery and the digital load（2）

The milliohm readings are related to the battery voltage. Higher voltage batteries allow higher internal resistance before the system fails because less current is required to deliver the same power. The ratio between voltage and milliohm is not totally linear. There are certain housekeeping components that are always present whether the battery has one or several cells. These are wiring, contacts and protection circuits (IBM ThinkPad R50 battery).

Temperature also affects the internal resistance of a battery. The internal resistance of a naked Li‑ion cell measures 50mW at 25°C (77°F). If the temperature increases, the internal resistance decreases. At 40°C (104°F), the internal resistance drops to about 43mW and at 60°C (140°F) to 40mW. While the battery performs better when exposed to heat, prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures is harmful. Most batteries deliver a momentary performance boost when heated (IBM ThinkPad R60 battery).

Cold temperatures have a drastic effect on all batteries. At 0ºC (32ºF), the internal resistance of the same Li‑ion cell drops to 70mW. The resistance increases to 80mW at -10ºC (50ºF) and 100mW at -20ºC (-4ºF) (IBM ThinkPad R51 battery).

The internal resistance readings work best with Li‑ion batteries because the degradation follows a linear pattern with cell oxidation. The performance of NiMH batteries can also be measured with the internal resistance method but the readings are less dependable. There are instances when a poorly performing NiMH battery can also exhibit a low mW reading (IBM ThinkPad X41 Tablet battery).

Testing a NiCd on resistance alone is unpredictable. A low resistance reading does not automatically constitute a good battery. Elevated impedance readings are often caused by memory, a phenomenon that is reversible. Of course, high internal resistance can have sources other than memory alone (Toshiba PA3535U-1BRS battery).

Summary

Customer demand has compelled manufacturers to equip portable devices with batteries that provide a long talk-time, are small and are light in weight. By packing more energy into a pack, other qualities may be neglected, one of which is internal resistance and longevity (Toshiba PA3535U-1BRS battery).

Predictable low mW reading and long service life is found in the NiCd family. This chemistry has been replaced with higher energy dense batteries for many wireless applications. In addition, negative publicity about the memory phenomenon and concerns of toxic metals have caused a shift towards alternative choices (Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS battery).

For many applications, including biomedical devices, power tools and most notably the Tetra system, the NiCd may be the only battery that has the endurance of delivering high pulse current under continuous usage. Other chemistries are simply too fragile. The resistance on a NiMH rises after a few hundred charge/discharge cycles. In comparison, a properly maintained NiCd provides over one thousand cycles (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery).

The battery and the digital load

With the move from analog to digital devices, new demands are being placed on the battery. Unlike analog equipment that draws a predictable and steady current, digital devices load the battery with short, high current bursts (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery).

One of the urgent requirements of a battery for digital applications is low internal resistance. Measured in milliohms (mW), the internal resistance is the gatekeeper that, to a large extent, determines the runtime. The lower the resistance, the less restriction the battery encounters in delivering the needed power bursts. A high mW reading can trigger an early ‘low battery’ indication on a seemingly good battery because the available energy cannot be fully delivered (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery).

In this article we examine the current requirements of analog and digital communications devices. Figure 1 provides typical examples of peak current of the analog two-way and digital Tetra radio, as well as the AMP, GSM, TDMA and CDMA mobile phones (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery).

Why do seemingly good batteries fail on digital equipment?

Service technicians have been puzzled by the seemingly unpredictable battery behavior when powering digital equipment. With the switch from analog to digital wireless communications devices, particularly mobile communications equipment, a battery that performs well on an analog system may show irrational behavior when used on a digital unit. Testing these batteries with a battery analyzer produces good capacity readings. Why then do some batteries fail on digital devices but not on analog (Toshiba PA3535U-1BRS battery)?

The overall energy requirement of a digital mobile phone is less than that of the analog equivalent, however, the battery must be capable of delivering high current pulses that are often several times that of the battery’s rating. Let’s look at the battery rating as expressed in C‑rates (Toshiba PA3535U-1BRS battery).

A 1C discharge of a battery rated at 500mAh is 500mA. In comparison, a 2C discharge of the same battery is 1000mA. A GSM phone powered by a 500mA battery that draws 1.5A pulses loads the battery with a whopping 3C discharge (Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS battery).

A 3C rate discharge is acceptable for a battery with very low internal resistance. However, aging batteries, especially Li‑ion and NiMH chemistries, pose a challenge because the mW readings increase with use. Improved performance can be achieved by using a larger battery, also known as an extended pack. Somewhat bulkier and heavier, an extended pack offers a typical rating of about 1000mAh or roughly double that of the slim-line. In terms of C‑rate, the 3C discharge is reduced to 1.5C when using a 1000mAh instead of a 500mAh battery (Toshiba PA3399U-2BRS battery).

As part of ongoing research to find the best battery system for wireless devices, Cadex has performed life cycle tests on various battery systems. In Figures 2 to 4 we examine NiCd, NiMH and Li‑ion batteries, each of which generate a good capacity reading when tested with a battery analyzer but produce stunning differences on a pulsed discharge of 1C, 2C and 3C. These pulses simulate a GSM phone (Toshiba PA3399U-1BRS battery).

A closer look reveals vast discrepancies in the mW measurements of the test batteries. In fact, these readings are typical of batteries that have been in use for a while. The NiCd shows 155mW, the NiMH 778mW and the Li‑ion 320mW, although the capacities checked in at 113, 107 and 94 percent respectively when tested with the DC load of a battery analyzer. It should be noted that the internal resistance of a new battery reads between 75 to 150mW (ACER Travelmate 2300 Battery).

From these charts we observe that the talk-time is in close relationship with the battery’s internal resistance. The NiCd produces a long talk time at all C-rates. In comparison, the NiMH only works at a lower C-rate. The Li‑ion performs better but is marginally at a 3C discharge (ACER Aspire 3020 Battery).

How is the internal battery resistance measured?

A number of techniques are available to measure the internal battery resistance. One common method is the direct current (DC) load test, which applies a discharge current to the battery while measuring the voltage drop. Voltage over current provides the internal resistance (ACER Aspire 3000 Battery).

The alternating current (AC) method, also known as the conductivity test, measures the electrochemical characteristics of a battery. This technique applies either a fixed frequency, or a frequency range from 10 to 1000Hz to the battery terminals. The impedance level affects the phase shift between voltage and current, which reveals the condition of the battery. Some AC resistance meters evaluate only the load factor and disregard the phase shift information (ACER Aspire 5020 Battery).

Cadex uses the discreet DC method to measure internal battery resistance. Added to the Cadex 7000 Series battery analyzers, a number of charge and discharge pulses are applied, which are scaled to the mAh rating of the battery tested. Based on the voltage deflections, the battery’s internal resistance is calculated. Known as Ohmtest™, the mW reading is obtained in five seconds (IBM ThinkPad R50 battery).

Neither of the three methods is dead accurate. The discrepancies are reasonably small on a good battery but the readings get more diverse on weaker packs. Figure 5 compares the accuracy obtained using the three methods (IBM ThinkPad R60 battery).

Resistance measurements alone do not provide a reliable indication on the battery’s performance. The mW readings may vary widely depending on battery chemistry, cell size (mAh rating), type of cell, number of cells connected in series, wiring and contact type (IBM ThinkPad R51 battery).

When using the impedance method, a battery with a known performance should be measured and its readings used as a reference. For best results, a reference reading should be on hand for each battery type. Figure 6 provides a guideline for digital mobile phone batteries based on impedance readings (IBM ThinkPad X41 Tablet battery).

Is the ‘smart’ battery help or deterrent?(2)

An SMBus battery contains permanent and temporary data. The permanent data is programmed into the battery at the time of manufacturing and include battery ID number, battery type, serial number, manufacturer’s name and date of manufacture. The temporary data is acquired during use and consists of cycle count, user pattern and maintenance requirements. Some of the temporary data is being replaced and renewed during the life of the battery (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery).

The SMBus is divided into Level 1, 2 and 3. Level 1 has been eliminated because it does not provide chemistry independent charging. Level 2 is designed for in-circuit charging. A laptop that charges its battery within the unit is a typical example of Level 2. Another Level 2 application is a battery that contains the charging circuit within the pack. Level 3 is reserved for full-featured external chargers (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery).

External Level 3 chargers are complex and expensive. Some lower cost chargers have emerged that accommodate SMBus batteries but are not fully SBS compliant. Manufacturers of SMBus batteries do not readily endorse this shortcut. Safety is always a concern, but customers prefer these economy chargers because of lower price (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery).

Serious industrial battery users operating biomedical instruments, data collection devices and survey equipment use Level 3 chargers with full-fledged charge protocol. No shortcuts are applied. To assure compatibility, the charger and battery are matched and only approved packs are used. The need to test and approve the marriage between a specific battery and charger is unfortunate given that the ‘smart’ battery is intended to be universal (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery).

Among the most popular SMBus batteries for portable computers are the 35 and 202 form-factors. Manufactured by Sony, Hitachi, GP Batteries, Moltech, Moli Energy and many others, this battery works (should work) in all portable equipment designed for this system. Figure 3 illustrates the 35 and 202 series ‘smart' batteries. Although the ‘35’ has a smaller footprint compared to the ‘202’, most chargers are designed to accommodate all sizes. A non-SMBus (‘dumb’) version with same footprint is also available (Toshiba PA3535U-1BRS battery).

Negatives of the ‘smart’ battery

Like any good invention, the ‘smart’ battery has some serious downsides. For starters, the ‘smart’ battery, in particular the SMBus, costs about 25 percent more than the ‘dumb’ equivalent. In addition, the ‘smart’ battery was intended to simplify the charger, but a full-fledged Level 3 charger costs substantially more than a regular dumb model (Toshiba PA2522U-1BRS battery).

A more serious issue is maintenance requirements, better known as capacity re-learning. This is needed on a regular basis to calibrate the battery. The Engineering Manager of Moli Energy, a large Li‑ion cell manufacturer commented, “With the Li‑ion battery we have eliminated the memory effect, but are we introducing digital memory with the SMBus battery?” (ASUS A3000 Battery)

Why is calibration needed? The answer is to correct the tracking errors that occur between the battery and the digital sensing circuit during use. The most ideal battery use, as far as fuel-gauge accuracy is concerned, is a full charge followed by a full discharge at a constant 1C rate. In such a case, the tracking error to less than one percent per cycle. In real life, a battery may be discharged for only a few minutes at a time and commonly at a lower C‑rate than 1C. Worst of all, the load may be uneven and vary drastically. Eventually, the true capacity of the battery no longer synchronizes with the fuel gauge and a full charge and discharge is needed to ‘re-learn’ or calibrate the battery (ASUS Eee PC 900 Battery).

How often is calibration needed? The answer lies in the type of battery application. For practical purposes, a calibration is recommended once every three months or after every 40 short cycles. Long storage also contributes to errors because the circuit cannot accurately compensate for self-discharge. After extensive storage, a calibration cycle is recommended prior to use (ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Battery).

Many applications apply a full discharge as part of regular use. If this occurs regularly, no additional calibration is needed. If a full discharge has not occurred for a few months and the user notices the fuel gauge losing accuracy, a deliberate full discharge on the equipment is recommended. Some intelligent equipment advises the user when a calibrating discharge is needed. This is done by measuring the tracking error and estimating the discrepancy between the fuel gauge reading and that of the chemical battery (IBM ThinkPad R50 battery).

What happens if the battery is not calibrated regularly? Can such a battery be used in confidence? Most ‘smart’ battery chargers obey the dictates of the cells rather than the electronic circuit. In this case, the battery will be fully charged regardless of the fuel gauge setting. Such a battery is able to function normally, but the digital readout will be inaccurate. If not corrected, the fuel gauge information simply becomes a nuisance (IBM ThinkPad R60 battery).

The level of non-compliance is another problem with the ‘smart’ battery, in particular the SMBus. Unlike other tightly regulated standards, the SMBus protocol allows some variations. This may cause problems with existing chargers and the SMBus battery should be checked for compatibility before use. Ironically, the more features that are added to the SMBus charger and battery, the higher the likelihood of incompatibilities (ACER Travelmate 2300 Battery).

The state-of-charge indicator

Most SMBus batteries are equipped with a charge level indicator. When pressing a SoC button on a battery that is fully charged, all signal lights illuminate. On a partially discharged battery, half the lights illuminate, and on an empty battery, all lights remain dark. Figure 4 shows such a fuel gauge (ACER Aspire 3020 Battery).

The tri-state fuel gauge

The battery cannot be evaluated without knowing its state-of-health. Three information levels are needed, which are: SoC, SoH and the empty portion that can be refilled. Figure 5 illustrates the three imaginary sections consisting of the empty zone, available energy and rock content (ACER Aspire 3000 Battery).

How can the three levels of a battery be measured and made visible to the user? While the SoC is relatively simple to produce, measuring the SoH is more complex. Here is how it works:

At time of manufacture, each SMBus battery is given its specified SoH status, which is 100 percent by default. This information is permanently programmed into the pack and does not change. With each charge, the battery resets to the full-charge status. During discharge, the energy units (coulombs) are counted and compared against the 100 percent setting. A perfect battery would indicate 100 percent on a calibrated fuel gauge. As the battery ages and the charge acceptance drops, the SoH begins to indicate lower readings. The discrepancy between the factory set 100 percent and the actual delivered coulombs is used to calculate the SoH (ACER Aspire 5020 Battery).

Knowing the SoC and SoH, a simple linear display can be made. The SoC is indicated with green LED’s; the empty part remains dark; and the unusable part is shown with red LED’s. Figure 6 shows such a tri-state fuel gauge. As an alternative, the colored bar display may be replaced with a numeric display indicating SoH and SoC. The practical location to place the tri-state-fuel gauge is on the charger (Dell Inspiron 1501 battery).

The target capacity selector

For users that simply need a go/no go answer, chargers are available that feature a target capacity selector. Adjustable to 60, 70 or 80 percent, the target capacity selector acts as a performance check and flags batteries that do not meet set requirements (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery).

If a battery falls below target, the charger triggers the condition light. The user is prompted to press the condition button to calibrate and condition the battery by applying a charge/discharge/charge cycle. If the battery does not recover, the fail light illuminates, indicating that the battery should be replaced. A green ready light assures that the battery meets the required performance level. Figure 7 illustrates a two-bay Cadex charger featuring the target capacity selector and discharge circuit. This unit is based on Level 3 and services both SMBus and ‘dumb’ batteries. SoH readings are only available when servicing SMBus batteries (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery).

By allowing the user to set the desired battery performance level, the question is raised as to what level to select. The answer is governed by the applications, reliability standards and cost policies.

A practical target capacity setting for most applications is 80 percent. Decreasing the threshold to 70 percent will lower the performance standard but pass more batteries. A direct cost saving will result. The 60 percent level may suit those users who run a low budget operation, have ready access to replacement batteries and can live with shorter, less predictable runtimes. It should be noted that the batteries are always charged to 100 percent, regardless of the target setting. The target capacity simply refers to the amount of charge the battery has delivered on the last discharge (Dell INSPIRON 1525 Battery).

Summary

SMBus battery technology is predominantly used for higher-level industrial applications. Improvements in the ‘smart’ battery system, such as higher accuracies and self-calibration and will likely increase the appeal of the ‘smart’ battery. Endorsement by large software manufacturers such as Microsoft will entice PC manufacturers to make full use of these powerful features (Dell Latitude D620 Battery).

‘Smart’ battery technology has not received the widespread acceptance that battery manufacturers had hoped. Some engineers go so far as to suggest that the SMBus battery is a ‘misguided principal’. Design engineers may not have fully understood the complexity of charging batteries in the incubation period of the ‘smart’ battery. Manufacturers of SMBus chargers are left to clean up the mess (Dell Inspiron E1505 Battery).

One main drawback of the ‘smart; battery is high price. In the early 1990s when the SMBus battery was conceived, price many not have been as critical as it is today. Now, buyers want scaled down products that are economically priced and perform the function intended. In the competitive mobile phone market, for example, the features offered by the SMBus would be considered overkill (Dell INSPIRON 1420 Battery).

In spite teething problems and relative high costs, the ‘smart’ battery will continue to fill a critical market segment. Unless innovative improvements are made and manufacturing costs are drastically reduced, this market will be reserved for high-level industrial applications only.