[CentOS] Battery condition tools CentOS/Dell

Wed Aug 5 13:43:36 UTC 2009
Kwan Lowe <kwan.lowe at gmail.com>

Hello all:
   Does anyone know of a tool/project that will allow me to read the
battery condition (not the charge status) on a Dell laptop battery?
Under XP there is a utility that warns that the battery is still
holding a charge but that the battery is degraded and should be
replaced.

Also, not sure if this is possible, but I would like to control how
the laptop charges the battery.  I tend to have the laptop plugged in
most of the time and this constant charging state is apparently very
bad for battery lifetime. So a charge/drain cycle is supposedly
better.

Thanks,
Kwan