UNINTERRUPTABLE POWER SUPPLIES FOR REAL CRITICAL APPS

Uninterruptable power supplies have finally made themselves a niche in the personal computer market. It seems like everyone with a computer has "vital" data that must be protected in the event of a power failure.

But computers aren't the only electronic appliances we depend on to make our lives tolerable. What happens when the power goes off and one of the dozens of other everyday appliances in our world dies? Shouldn't we have some way of keeping these going at least long enough to finish the task at hand?

Obviously the answer is yes.

Here are my suggestions for some of the "critical systems" that I think need to remain operational, even if the local power company poops out.

Television and VCR
This is a no-brainer. Why haven't the UPS people come out with something that will back up these two lifelines for at least 60 minutes. Sure, you can lose some important data on your spreadsheet if the wall socket goes dead, but the you can get it back eventually. But what kind of a life would you have if you can't keep up with the weekly doings on Friends and X-Files?

Refrigerator
Another appliance that's far more important to me than a computer. At least three times a day. Sure, a refrigerator is insulated and the food and drink inside can stay cold for a while after the juice is turned off. But why take the chance? You guys in the UPS design section can put something together that's fairly unobtrusive (maybe you can make it look like one of the magnets that holds messages on the fridge door). It doesn't have to be big, just large enough to keep the drinks cool.

Heating/Cooling System
Okay, so it's not a big deal in the spring or fall. But it's murder to lose the air conditioning in Phoenix in August, or to have your heater give up the ghost in mid-January if you live in Warroad, Minnesota. And the UPS doesn't have to look pretty. Who looks at your heater anyway?

Hair Dryer
You're already having a bad day. Woke up late because the alarm didn't go off. No hot water for the shower. Can't get the toaster to work. And now you've got wet hair and no time to let it dry on it's own. (What? You didn't know some people still do that?) If you had a UPS for the hair dryer you could get back on track in minutes. No, it wouldn't make everything peaches and cream. But it would make it possible to salvage something.

Microwave Oven
The second most important invention of the twentieth century. People over thirty can remember what life was like before microwaves, but why remind us? Give us enough juice to nuke a frozen entree or an individual pizza, at least.

Portable Phone
These are very handy. But when the power goes out the base goes dead. We don't want to go back to the stone age and use a phone that's tethered to the wall, especially when we're trying to call the power company and find out how long we're going to be in the dark.

Video Games
Sure, having the power go off is tough on everybody. But it's toughest on kids. And if the power is out because of a storm, you can't exactly kick them out the door and tell them to enjoy nature for once. C'mon here! You guys in design need to put something together to fit between the game console and the wall so the kids don't drive us up the wall.

Stereo
Sure, a lot of the portable systems use batteries, but what about the wall-size models that provide true audio enjoyment. There's no reason we should have to give up quality sound just because the power lines gave out.

Vacuum
Uh ... no need to be too fanatical about it. After all, UPS is for critical apps.