Linux Mint on T430

I am running Linux Mint 14.1 on my T430 and I have a few questions.

1.) My battery life is pretty poor on Mint compared to Windows 7. I have a feeling this could be due to Optimus not working properly and my NVS 5400m always being on. Any way to fix this?

2.) I use two finger scrolling on the touchpad a lot in windows and that doesn't work on Mint. Any way to fix this?

3.) any tweaks or software I need to know about to run Mint more? I'm a windows guy and I confess I don't know much about Linux. I'm trying to start using it more because I am a Computer Science major and want to learn more about it.

Thanks for any input you guys can give me!

 

1) Disable the NVIDIA card in the BIOS. The easiest way by far.

2) Two finger scrolling should work out of the box, it's just not enabled by default. Make sure you've enabled in the settings (GNOME has a checkbox).

 

Is there a different way to specifically disable the gpu in linux only because I still use Windows 7 and would like to have it as an option still.

 

I used to use Linux Desktop a lot, but it is not worth the trouble and time I went through to fix the problems to make it usable. So today I mostly use it on my VPS and storage box.

 

I have noticed that even after only running the integrated graphics, my T430 still has terrible battery life in Mint, and also heats up very quickly. A lot more hot air is coming out of the vents compared to when I run Windows. What's the deal?