I may be the only developer on HN that doesn't have this issue or on the entire internet for that matter, but I have no issues with battery life on my tMBP 15". I do all day development in eclipse and have music playing in the background. I think the battery life issues are overblown based on the few other devs around me that also use the new tMBP but I haven't personally asked them how long theirs last, just see they keep theirs unplugged for long periods of time too.