Sort OT - Linux APM with TunerStudioMS

[Peter Florance]

I have a vague feeling that my Dell battery life is better with Windows XP than Linux. But comm port performance is so crappy in Windows, I prefer to stay in Linux and use TunerStudioMS.
Any secrets to be sure that APM is working (Ubuntu 8.04). and that TunerStudio is in it's 'greenest' mode, AFA battery life?

Thanks to anyone that has insights into Linux APM (power management) and sorry for OT.

[LT401Vette]

I'll have to leave the APM question to some with more expertise

But for a green TS, I guess the real key is to keep CPU utilization at the lowest.
The main use of CPU is the Dash, using a dashboard with Anti-Aliasing off and fewer gauges will use less CPU. Some more complex dashboards like the Analog Bar dash will burn a good bit more CPU.
Also a slower data rate will reduce CPU power a good bit... The fast the data rate the more frequently the dash will get painted. So if you run at 15 or even 10 records / second you can save a good bit of CPU.

[knightrous]

Possibly worth looking at upgrading to Ubuntu 9.10? I believe there has been a further work on power saving for laptops and better resume/hibernation settings. I haven't installed 9.10 on a laptop yet, but it's working superbly on my two desktops.

[Peter Florance]

Possibly worth looking at upgrading to Ubuntu 9.10? I believe there has been a further work on power saving for laptops and better resume/hibernation settings. I haven't installed 9.10 on a laptop yet, but it's working superbly on my two desktops.

Thanks for that; I've always felt that power management has been the one of the only weak points of 8.04LTS distribution, but didn't know enough to be sure. That and when my left click goes away and I have to repeatable right click to get the function back.

Is an upgrade from 8.04LTS do-able or do I need to do a clean installation?