Best software configuration for laptops

How should I configure openSUSE for a laptop in order to save battery-life as much as possible ? (kernel, desktop env., software to use etc.)

From pturner7: How to prolong lithium-based batteries
But, more to the point, are you using KDE or Gnome?

I use WindowMaker; But desktop env. is not that important to me; I just want to use it for C and Java development … and for writing things via O.O.Writer;