Battery charge

[ForkliftFred]

Don't worry about taking it off charge when it tells you too, it won't hurt to leave it connected. It also won't hurt to charge it when it's nearly full.

You could try Battery Widget from Elvison. It adds an icon to the notification bar which will be one of four colours depending on the percentage and you can set the levels at which it changes. It won't control charging but it will give you a clear visual indication of its current state.