[geeks] New Intel Atom-based barebones system

[Phil Stracchino]

der Mouse wrote:
>> Most users with anything useful on their machines do need a UPS.
> 
> I thought so, too.  So I put my home machines on UPSes.
> 
> Since then, I have had two failures due to UPSes misbehaving.  During
> the same time, I have had one power outage that having a UPS helped
> with.  History indicates I'm better off without - and, indeed, I'm
> running without them at the moment.
> 
> Of course, this will doubtless vary for you depending on numerous
> factors, such as the quality of service from your local power supplier.

And the quality of the UPS.  I've never had an APC UPS of my own
"misbehave".  One $WORK-owned APC SU2200 overcharged its batteries to
the point of bulging so badly I couldn't remove them; APC overnighted us
a complete new UPS and prepaid freight on the defective one.  Total cost
to us:  three minutes downtime, outside business hours, on the network
rack and the mailserver.

On the other hand, if I had a buck for every time my UPSen have kept my
machines up when the power has flickered in a thunderstorm or browned
out in California summer power hysteria ...    well, it wouldn't replace
my SU3000RM, or even replace its batteries.  But it'd buy me a good
dinner at a decent restaurant.  :)


-- 
  Phil Stracchino, CDK#2     DoD#299792458     ICBM: 43.5607, -71.355
  alaric at caerllewys.net   alaric at metrocast.net   phil at co.ordinate.org
         Renaissance Man, Unix ronin, Perl hacker, Free Stater
                 It's not the years, it's the mileage.