Laptop HD activity w/ Ubuntu is excessive

This is a HD killer if you run on battery a lot. Note that the problem seems to be restricted to while running on battery (HD is shut down and awakened every minute). Here's the link:

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/10/31/ubuntu-eats-lappy-hard-drive

That has never happend to me in any of three laptops i had running Ubuntu (6.06, 6.10 and 7.04)

EDIT: there is a comment at the bottom about it http://ubuntudemon.wordpress.com/2007/10/30/ubuntu-is-not-causing-aggressive-power-management/

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Presumably, the problem comes from Ubuntu/Debian? programmers following the instructions provided by the hard drive makers and using their (the makers) default settings. That seemed to be the jist of the analysis as to how it occurred.

I'm almost always on AC with my notebook, so I haven't seen this problem, myself. However, a heads up can't hurt.

In my case the file which manage the laptop enable is off in default and all of my laptops are running either Debian or Ubuntu with no problem, from another thread with the same subject as one poster says some people have been using it for over 3 years with no problem to disks

I don't think I've had this issue.