Maximizing Battery Life?

[saqer]

I was wondering if anyone knows what could be causing the battery to drain quicker than usual. Listed below are some obvious reasons to help newbie's out wondering the same thing, but I was hoping further discussion can identify certain apps, registry features, etc, etc that drain the battery quicker. I'm running the latest 3.5 kitchen and have a 2600 mAH polymer battery.

1. Higher backlight setting
2. Active data connection
3. Bluetooth on and paired with bluetooth device
4. Many programs running in background
5. Certain apps (will update)
a. skype

I was wondering, does the inclusion of more OEM packages into the kitchen entail higher rate of battery drain?

I use skype from time to the other and if you keep it connected the phone may not enter standby mode. So for any skype users...look out for that