Powertop 2.0 – saving power under Linux

Powertop, a tool for detecting power wasters under Linux, is about to make a generational jump: version 2.0 provides improved diagnostic options and a redesigned user interface. It also offers a simple, manual way of enabling numerous power-saving features that can noticeably extend the battery life of notebooks.

Currently available as beta version 1.98, Powertop 2.0 is nearing completion. The second generation Linux program for tracking down power wasters has been largely rewritten. Developer Arjan van de Ven explains the reasons for the rewrite in his release email for the first beta, which was released at the beginning of the year: the codebase for the first generation of Powertop had grown rather out of hand after many new features were added.

10 best Linux distros for 2011 -1

These three attributes are unique to each Linux distribution. But at the same time, each Linux distribution is at liberty to take and mix whatever it wants from any other.This creates a rather unique situation, where good ideas quickly spread, and bad ones fail. And as a result, there are dozens of distribution updates each month, hundreds each year, in a race to leap-frog each other in the race to the top of the DistroWatch.com charts.

This is why the answer to the question of which distribution is best for you changes with the tides, and why we're keen to keep on top of distribution developments.