It will be necessary for the application to specify (through a BIOS service) the type of the installed batteries (NiCad or Alkaline; the default is Alkaline). This is necessary for 2 reasons:
(1) The HP palmtop should ever be used to recharge Alkaline batteries.
(2) NiCad and Alkaline batteries have quite different characteristics.
Reliable end-of-battery-life processing (Warnings, Software Shutdown, etc.) depend upon knowing the type of main batteries installed.