It’s funny, but I am actually surprised that MySpace took this long to bite the dust during the nationwide heat wave here in the States. In some way, I suppose that it goes to prove that it matters very little just how good your hardware truly is when you lack the power to keep it running. Looks like the country as a whole is getting yet another “wake up call” that we had better figure something out with regard to power usage.

Moving on and yet remaining on the topic of “power”, I am in the market for a new UPS. My old APC is just not enough as I have waaaaay too much plugged into it as it is. Thus far, I have found myself becoming tempted by the much hyped Geek Squad 1285VA UPS/Battery Back-Up System. Other than the fact that Geek Squad is an ex-competitor to my previous PC repair biz, the reviews have been pretty good on their UPS unit.

It certainly offers features that I like: hot-swappable batteries, LED indicators for power on, battery on, AVR and wiring; audible alarms for battery on, low battery and overload, and a EMI/RFI noise filter.

So should I go for it? My first thoughts are to be a little wary as I trust Best Buy about as far as I can fly. I would rather stick with APC, however I am not able to locate a unit with these features for the price offered at Best Buy. Obviously there are number of you asking why I don’t just go Tripp Lite? The answer to this is simple - I live in Bellingham, the technology vacuum of the northwest. In other words, there are no units available locally that I am aware of. And don’t even get me started on having one shipped over. Not going to happen unless I have FedEx guaranteed. I am not really interested in watching the “Useless Postal Service” (USPS) giving my stuff to my front door without a hint of notice yet again.

So what do you think? Is this Geek Squad “Hype Box” worth it? I must admit that there is a perverse appeal to running through Best Buy screaming Bonzi! while chasing down the guy who sold it to me; should anything go wrong while using it of course. After all, that’s the magic of buying locally - payback, up close and personal.

[tags]ups,pc repair,geek squad,apc,led indicators,hot-swappable,rfi noise filter,tripp lite[/tags]