Do newer laptop batteries still need to be drained before recharging?

NiCd and Nickel Hydride batteries need occasional deep discharging. Lithium batteries do not suffer from the same issue - and deep discharging can damage them. This article discusses the subject in more depth.

Lithium ions seem to have different issues, more to do with how far you drain them and how you store them http://en.wikipediadotorg/wiki/Liion#Guidelines_for_prolonging_lithium-ion_battery_life

If your laptop has a lithium ion (li-ion) battery, it does not retain a memory. Meaning you can charge them when ever you feel like it. At 10% or 90% it doesn't matter. The downside to li-ion batteries is they do not last that long. After a few hundred charges and prolonged use they do not hold a charge as well as when they were new.

"No. Lithium-ion batteries are not subject to the memory effect, and repeated full discharges will significantly reduce the life of the battery.

However, ""smart"" batteries, which keep track of the charge level to determine the percentage of battery life remaining, may gradually lose track of the full charge and discharge points over many partial charge-discharge cycles, causing them to report incorrect charge levels. For these batteries, fully charging and discharging them can recalibrate the battery so that it reports the correct charge level. This generally only needs to be done once every 3-6 months of use, depending on how much the battery is used. More information on battery calibration can be found in this Battery University lesson."

I use a Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop. Recently, when my battery conked out, the reseller told me that I need to let the battery drain out once a month. I suppose he was just dishing out a defunct piece of advice.