I thought it was 10 years.  I don't have my papers here.

Anyway, I've had two controllers from Dec of it's release and both hold charges for days at a time.  They don't magically turn themselves on and they shut themselves off if the PS3 is off.

well then you've probably shorted the battery due to lack of use lol. try fully charging it, then leaving it on charge (even when full) and then try discharging it by actively using it for game play for a prolonged period. if it can't last a while gaming session, then the battery is messed. you don't have to use the ps3 to charge the sixaxis by the way.

A lot of fun honestly. If you like Culdcept games then you will like it. If you think the concept is interesting then you will probably love the series. The only problem is the computer cheats like a fiend.

Lol i so wasnt thinking what you said 

I'm just skipping from first post to this post so just keep that in mind.

Anyway, that's kind of weird and I don't have that problem. If I start a movie or something like that, I always turn off the controller. I believe an auto-turn off when the PS3 is idle was added in a patch, but I'm usually making sure that the controller is off when it needs to be.

I know the included USB wire for charging the PS3 controller is very short, but you can pick up some really cheap USB extensions online, I was stupid and I should have picked up longer ones, but I got a couple of 6 foot ones for like a few bucks each that I use to plug it into the PS3 and play from the couch.

"Each time my controller sits there flashing at me not letting me play a game when I actually want to I plug my controller into the PS3 and let it sit for a few hours. I can't really play while it's charging because the cord I have is ridiculously short and I know it does actually charge my controller."

Have I read this right? When you plug the controller in, it flashes? That is something it should do and pressing the PS button will activate it. I know that pressing the PS button when the PS3 has no power in it will cause it to stay on in that search mode (flashing lights) for a little while, maybe something presses the PS button?

lol, I hope the Dualshock 3 is better regardless whether I use rumble or not. I like how the Sixaxis is so light, but I'm not liking how cheap it feels. The triangle button sticks every now and then, it cuts out in some games, and now the left analog stick looks like it's breaking down and it's slightly tilted forward.

I get about 25-30 hours of actual use out of each charge of my sixaxis. I had to go out and buy a different USB cord for charging so I could play while charging though - I picked up a 10' cord for about $5.

DS3 would seem to lose charge faster if you ask me you're adding vibration to the sixaxis and its moving parts at that, it would seem to kill your batteries even faster unless they put a better battery in the DS3. And the thing about the rechargeable batteries, I use them in my Wii remotes they seem to hold a charge just as long, the ones I use are higher quality Duracell rechargeables though and the amount of money they've saved me has been enough to where I can afford to buy an extra game every so often I would go through the big 10 dollar packs of AAs in no time especially when at college cause having a Wii makes you a popular person, having a Wii and Guitar Hero 3 makes you a king, but also seems to drain your chips, soda, and of course battery supply >_>.

 lol, I'm like the battery supplier for the 360 and Wii at our apartment. I have a couple of AA rechargeables and recharge in 15 minutes and they work well too. 

Due to a long story, I have a ridiculous number of AA batteries. So I haven't bought those rechargeable things for the Wii -- and based on my rate of consumption, I won't for a long time.