i'm trying to figure out a way to get my battery to last an extra hour or so on my inspiron 5100.  i use it primarily at school for word processing and audio recording, but even with the wireless card disabled, minimal background apps running, minimal fan usage, and having the monitor shut off after a minute, the battery dies about 45 minutes sooner than i would like.  so i have two questions:

1) is there a program that will allow me to underclock the cpu on command?  i don't want to mess with hardwiring; just a simple app to slow down and speed up the notebook would be preferable if it exists.  i know such applications exist for the palm pilot, so i would think something similar would have been created for laptop pcs...i just haven't found anything like it.  speedstep does not work for me.

2) is there a program that will allow me to shut off the monitor on command, rather than after a timed limit?  i'd like to be able to push the "internet" button and have just the monitor turn off (no standby) when i want it to.

while i'm at it does anybody know any way to get a different battery tray icon?  the one i have only shows three phases--full, half empty, and empty.  i'd like to be able to see that the battery is still x% full rather than see an "empty" icon when there's still a decent amount of juice left.

thanks