So I picked up this notebook yesterday and before I even left the coffee shop where I met the seller, I had Ubuntu installed (we've come a long way baby) from a USB stick.

What are the easiest tips and tweaks I can use right away while getting acquainted with this machine in order to keep battery life maximized?

I am running the stock BIOS right now and have already chosen the power saving modes rather than performance.

I am not using this machine as a workhorse, so battery over performance is my overall goal.

Well... After messing w/ an Ubuntu install, I decided to bite the bullet. Since I am using a laptop that is all business and no pizzazz, I am going to bite the bullet and finally resolve to run plain old Debian. Initial install went without a hitch.

Tomorrow an SSD will be delivered. I will attempt a totally minimal install w/ no BS added. It will probably take some work to ADD what I want in, but I won't have stupid crap like Backgammon installed.

I'm dual-booting W7 and Ubuntu on an X60s with no problems.

If you're willing to work for a really minimal installation, try Arch Linux.

LOL. I think that is just slightly beyond my level of wanting to work.

Installed Debian Squeeze the other night. Just reinstalled because my SSD arrived.

With the 7200rpm drive, it went from cold start to GDM Login in 36 seconds.

With the SSD, the time was cut exactly in half! Thrilled so far.

I was just going to suggest it

Don't forget to install laptop-mode-tools. It can help lower power consumption.

Undervolting can help as well.