Software battery gauge for portable computers

A method for indicating to a user a charge status of each of at least one battery connected to a computer for providing power thereto, the apparatus comprising, for each of said at least one battery:

• displaying on a display of said computer a user interface indicating said charge status of said battery, said user interface comprising a graphical status indicator portion and a textual status indicator portion;
• periodically determining whether said charge status of said battery has changed from a previous charge status;
• responsive to a determination that said charge status has changed, obtaining comprehensive battery status information for said battery;
• and
• updating said user interface using said comprehensive battery status information;
• and
• prior to said obtaining:
• determining whether said comprehensive battery status information is available;
• and
• responsive to a determination that said comprehensive battery status information is not available, indicating to said user via said user interface that no battery status information is available.

In a computer comprising a display and a processor and connectable to at least one battery for deriving power therefrom, an apparatus for providing to a user a charge condition of each of said at least one battery comprising:

• means for displaying on said display for each of said at least one battery a user interface associated with said battery, said user interface indicating a charge condition of said battery and comprising a graphical status indicator portion and a textual status indicator portion;
• means for eliciting battery status information for each of said at least one battery upon each elapse of a preselected time period;
• means for updating said graphical and textual status indicators for each of said at least one battery using said elicited battery status information for said battery;
• and
• for each of said at least one battery:
• means for determining whether said charge condition of said battery changed during said preselected time period prior to said eliciting;
• and
• means responsive to a determination that said charge condition of said battery has not changed during said preselected time period for skipping said eliciting and updating.

A computer program stored on a computer-readable medium and executable in a computer having a display and a processor and connectable to at least one battery for deriving power therefrom, the computer program for providing to a user a charge condition of each of said at least one battery, the computer program comprising:

• instructions for displaying on said display a user interface indicating a charge condition of said battery, said user interface comprising a graphical status indicator portion and a textual status indicator portion;
• instructions for eliciting battery status information for said battery upon each elapse of a preselected time period;
• instructions for updating said graphical and textual status indicators displayed on said display using said elicited battery status information;
• and
• instructions for, prior to said eliciting, determining whether said charge condition of said battery changed during said preselected time period and, responsive to a determination that said charge condition of said battery has not changed during said preselected time period, omitting performance of said eliciting and updating.