Def a good idea to completely cycle your battery every now and then (i.e. use till your laptop totally runs out of juice and then totally charge again).
Battery chemistries have improved since the old NiCad days, but they will still exhibit some memory.
Also, batteries tend to have a lot of smarts in them nowadays - cycling the battery will let the electronics have a better idea of when the battery is actually full or empty. This will result in a better charge when you use the battery for real.
Afaik, that last point is why Apple recommend power cycling your battery every now and then.
"Battery chemistries have improved since the old NiCad days, but they will still exhibit some memory."
This is incorrect. Lithium ion batteries do not exhibit memory. However, the digital tools to check them can develop a memory, which leads to inaccuracies. (and is why it is recommended to occasionally cycle the battery). Cycling is hard on lithium ion, so you should try not do to it too often.
You never want to fully discharge a lithium ion battery. As I understand it, most batteries consist of multiple internal cells, and fully discharging the cells increases the chances that one of the cells will reverse polarity and ruin the battery.
Lithium ion batteries contain safety circuits that will attempt to shut down the battery before it fully discharges, but of course batteries continue to naturally self-discharge even when they are not being used, so such a shut-down battery could still fully discharge over time. So if you discharge a lithium battery to the point where it stops working, it is not actually fully discharged, but you want to recharge it soon, while it still holds this residual charge.
This is why all new lithium ion batteries ship partially charged and recommend a full charge before initial use.
Battery chemistries have improved since the old NiCad days, but they will still exhibit some memory.
Also, batteries tend to have a lot of smarts in them nowadays - cycling the battery will let the electronics have a better idea of when the battery is actually full or empty. This will result in a better charge when you use the battery for real.
Afaik, that last point is why Apple recommend power cycling your battery every now and then.