BattCursor does in-your-face battery alerts using Aero Glass and more

Just about every operating system out there includes some basic notification for a laptop's battery level. For Windows users who want to go beyond basic, give BattCursor a try.

One of the app's coolest features is the ability to warn you when your battery is low by altering the color of your window borders. By default it's set to yellow for low and red for critical, but you can specify any mix you like using RGB / alpha sliders. As you'd guess from the name, BattCursor can also display the current charge level beneath your pointer.

You can also set up some Vista / Windows 7 oriented battery saving measures. The battery tweaks page allows you to disable both Aero Glass and the Windows Sidebar when your battery reaches a certain level. BattCursor's tray icon also provides right-click access to quickly disable both features.

BattCursor can also automatically switch power profiles. Once enabled, your system will change from high performance to balanced to power saver at the charge levels you specify. The tray icon also provides access to the three default profiles.

If you still want more visual feedback, turn on the OSD to show changes in volume and backlight brightness.

I'm not certain I'd call BattCursor an essential app for laptop users, but it's still a great little program and packs a ton of useful features.

[via Into Windows]

Tags: aero-glass, battery, charge, freeware, laptop, monitor