|
Question:
I have a universal power supply that occasionally shuts
down because of noisy power. Is there an economical
pre-filter that can filter the power before the UPS or
any other electronics in the house?
Answer:
First, let me explain what a universal or
uninterruptible power supply is. Just as a surge
protector guards your electronic equipment against
electric spikes, a UPS contains a battery that keeps
your computer running through brief power outages.
While
random shut-offs aren't bad for the physical components
(as power surges are), they are bad for the data in RAM
and the hard drives themselves, and could result in data
corruption, said
Jeremy Behrens
, an IT consultant in
Audubon, N.J.
All computer users should consider buying one, he said.
While
you're looking for a filter, the crux of the issue may
be the quality of your UPS. You may have noisy power,
but Behrens has a feeling that your UPS is old and/or
going bad, and is shutting off on its own.
He
suggests purchasing any new UPS unit by APC, the leader
in electrical backup power, with a bigger battery than
your current unit.
A bigger
battery means a more stable electrical signal coming
from the UPS and longer run time if the power goes out,
he said.
New UPS
systems are expensive, starting around
$50
and going up into the hundreds of dollars, depending on
the features and battery size. Basic ones protect
against surges and blackouts, with software that shuts
down your computer correctly when the battery is about
to run out.
More
advanced models that also modulate high and low voltages
to safe levels, saving your battery for actual blackouts
(and addressing your request for a filter), cost about
$120
. And a model designed with features for home networking
equipment such as modems and routers costs about
$200
.
A cheaper
alternative would be to simply replace your UPS battery,
Behrens said. You can find a replacement at www.apc.com/tools/upgrade—selector/index.cfm.
The company also offers a trade-in program; they'll take
any model and give you up to a 25 percent discount on a
new one.
However,
buying a UPS may only be putting a bandage on the real
issue. If replacing the UPS doesn't fix what's going on,
Behrens recommends having an electrician look at your
house's wiring to determine what the real problem is.
Ultimately, fixing the electrical system in the house is
the only way to protect all of your electronics.
———
Q: I like
using both Gmail and the
Google
calendars for my personal work. At the office, we use
Microsoft Outlook. Outlook e-mail has a great feature
which allows you set a follow-up date (for an e-mail
message sent or received). Outlook will bring up a
reminder on that date. This allows you to think about or
respond later to an e-mail message. I cannot find a
similar feature in the
Google
e-mail. Any suggestions?
A:
There's a Firefox add-on plus an extra bit of code that
will do what you want.
Go to
Firefox.com, click on "add-ons" and search for
"greasemonkey." Click on the green button to
add it to Firefox and click "Install now."
You'll be
prompted to restart Firefox — do so.
Now go to
g.alert.script.googlepages.com/gmailalert.user.js to
download G-Alert. A box will pop up; click
"Install."
Open your
Gmail. If you're using the newer version of Gmail, you
will need to get to the older version. Click on the link
for "Older Version" at the top right of the
page to revert.
You
should now see a small reminder bar on the top left of
the page.
But
you're not there yet. You also need to enable pop-up
windows for Gmail in Firefox.
Go to
"Tools," then "Options," and select
"Content." Click on "Exceptions" to
the right of the check-box for "Block pop-up
windows."
Type in
"Gmail.com" and click "Allow," then
click "Close." Click "OK" to close
the options window.
Finally,
you're ready to set your reminder. Just check the box
beside the message you're interested in, and choose when
you want the reminder in the new box at the top of the
screen. You also can attach a note for yourself.
Unfortunately,
you initially have to set the reminder in minutes or
hours. If you have a longer horizon, just pick any time
and click "Go." Click "View," and a
task list will appear at the top right of your screen.
Click "Edit" to change the reminder to days.
|
