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DESCRIPTION
ChargerChecker is the best, most full-featured power state alert app available. It works in conjunction with Growl to give you on-screen notifications when your laptop’s charger is connected or disconnected. With the release of the MacBook Pro, Apple also introduced a brand new power adapter that uses the MagSafe connector. While this innovative new feature can save your laptop from being jerked off the table by a careless passer-by, many people have complained that their power adapter becomes unplugged inadvertently without them ever knowing it. This can be a huge problem when you pull your laptop out in the airport to put the finishing touches on your upcoming presentation only to find that it was mistakingly unplugged and the battery is completely dead. Install ChargerChecker and never worry about a discharged battery again.
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WHAT'S NEW
Version 0.5:
  • Completely Rewritten
  • All New Interface Offers More Control
  • Low Battery and Charge Complete Alerts
  • Automatically Checks for Future Updates
REQUIREMENTS
Mac OS X 10.4 or later, PowerBook, iBook, or MacBook Pro, Growl installed.


SCREENSHOT

Developer:Chad Brantly
Downloads:2,440
  - Version d/l:2,044
Utilities:System
License:Free
Date:27 Mar 2006
Platform:PPC/Intel
RATING
***½.
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    ChargerChecker User Reviews (8 posts)Write A Review
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    Dec 29 2007

    THEC13  Any problems with running this app in Leopard?  
    (Version 0.5)

    praisebury
    0
    [ Reply ]
    Aug 12 2006

    ALEXTM  not free

    unless you donate to it it always pops up a please buy a license box  
    (Version 0.5)

    praisebury
    0
    [ 1 Reply - Reply ]
    Replies:
    Oct 13 2007

    WHIT_G  Second that - this is not a truly "free" app and listing it as such is misleading. I think it's a nice little utility, but I'm amazed that the author thinks it's worth pestering users for money every single time you start your computer. Donationware is a great concept, but it doesn't lend itself to shareware-like harassment.   
    (Version 0.5)

    praisebury
    0

    May 30 2006
    **½..

    ABBOTT  While the functionality is good (it's nice to have a visual warning when your PowerBook power supply is disconnected), this app is definitely NOT the one to use.

    Problem: the application prevents the PowerBook from sleeping (Mac OS X 10.4.6 at least). I did extensive troubleshooting and finally attributed the problem to this app.

    Second problem: ChargerChecker prevents the disk drive from spinning down. In addition to draining the battery more quickly (my life dropped 15-20 minutes when running this app), it made estimates of battery life unreliable.

    Third problem: actually an issue rather than functional problem. This application phones home (Little Snitch revealed this).  
    (Version 0.5)

    praisebury
    0
    [ 1 Reply - Reply ]
    Replies:
    May 31 2006

    CBRANTLY  I don't think your sleep issue is related to ChargerChecker. I use it on several laptops and have never had this problem.

    The phone-home only happens once when you launch the app or when the daemon starts. This is checking what the current version is to give you update notifications. No personal information is sent.  
    (Version 0.5)

    praisebury
    0

    Mar 28 2006

    RICHARDCRANIUM  All I get is Applescript errors, over and over.

    Unfortunately, useless.

    iBook G4 10.3.9  
    (Version 0.5)

    praisebury
    0
    [ 2 Replies - Reply ]
    Replies:
    Mar 28 2006

    CBRANTLY  ChargerChecker requires 10.4.   
    (Version 0.5)

    praisebury
    0
    Mar 28 2006

    RICHARDCRANIUM  Oops, my mistake. A similar program works with 10.3 and I was doing a comparison.

    Cheers.  
    (Version 0.5)

    praisebury
    0

    Mar 27 2006

    E_COMMERCE  How many of these silly things do we need? I count three just today!  
    (Version 0.2)

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    0
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    Mar 26 2006

    S CLUB 1  Pointless app!!

    Go to System Preferences > Energy Saver and change 'Other Options' Settings for: Battery to 'Reduce the brightness of the built-in display when using this power source'.

    If the cord is unplugged the screen will dim noticeably. Of course it won't dim if originally at 1 bar, but if you're plugged into power why are you using the screen on minimum brightness?!  
    (Version 0.2)

    praisebury
    0
    [ 2 Replies - Reply ]
    Replies:
    Mar 26 2006

    PIANOMANSAM  I use a similar piece of software to ChargerChecker. Yes, you could noticed a change in brightness, as you said, if the brightness on battery is high or both are low it wouldn't be noticable. I find though that even with differences in brightness I sometimes still don't realize the cord has been disconnected. Hence why the need for such an application.  
    (Version 0.2)

    praisebury
    0
    Mar 27 2006

    CBRANTLY  Your method also doesn't take into account if the user has their display set to adjust to ambient light. Just because your screen dims doesn't necessarily mean that your power supply was disconnected.  
    (Version 0.5)

    praisebury
    0

    Mar 25 2006

    A.STAGE  seems to use a lot of cpu on my pb g4 titanium 1Ghz  
    (Version 0.1)

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    Mar 24 2006
    *****

    JOHN LABOVITZ  This is a lovely little tool. Very simple, does what it's supposed to do and no more.

    To the developer: I'd recommend using a disk image instead of a zip file to distribute the app.  
    (Version 0.1)

    praisebury
    0
    [ 1 Reply - Reply ]
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    Mar 26 2006

    CBRANTLY  John,

    Thanks for the review. The new version of ChargerChecker uses a disk image.   
    (Version 0.2)

    praisebury
    0