I don't have much spare money, but now when I check the battery status on my MacBook it doesn't just show the remaining time (which is always alarmingly short!) but it says "Replace Now". Yikes. Can I ignore that, or do I need to replace my MacBook battery, and if so, how much does it cost??

Hi Dave. My contract with my current client ends in three weeks. Since I'll finally be a free agent I am going to spend several months in west Africa as I have a good friend living in Sierra Leone. I'm looking to teach, freelance or do whatever paying gigs come my way.

I have the 17in MacBook pro which is great even though I've had it since December 2007. I've been considering selling it for cash toward a new 13 inch MacBook Pro so that I can blog, do podcasts, etc. However I don't know if getting the new one is the right choice considering there's no slot for another battery. I'll be without power for about five hours a day in Freetown.

I'd feel safer having an additional battery in case the power is out for an extended period of time. Should I just look for the previous version of the MacBook? Would I be sacrificing a lot of power?