IÕve the NO UPC for my Leopard iMac Blues

Rants, Raves and Revelations – August

By Harry {doc} Babad    © 2008

 

 

 

RANT: There are no, none, niet, neine, nonÉ  LEOPARD compliant Uninterruptible Power Supplies [UPCÕs] available, at least none that IÕve been able to find. Companies like American Power ConversionÕs (APC) and Belkin advertise in Macintosh publications without identifying the software limitation. Here are two sample APC adds

 

Macworld - February 2008	Macworld - August 2008

 

Now many of you who read either the Macintosh print media (e.g., Macworld, Mac|Life, perhaps macHOME) will have heard about the virtues of using an UPS to protect your hardware/software and document investments. You now, if youÕre a cautious person with an investment in your computer system and itÕs peripherals, you want to keep it safe from power surges and outages. Indeed, you probably have surge protectors on your present equipmentÉ good but not great. You really want to be able to withstand a voltage or other line glitch AND shut down you system safely. To do so you need the UPS to access your operating systemÉsave you work and do a safe shutdown, even when the electrify in your home has shut down.

 

Aye, thereÕs the rub! The two leading brands, those folks who most often advertise to Macintosh users, no longer have software that allows system shutdown if you, like many of us, are a Macintosh OS X Leopard user. Neither BelkinÕs Bulldog Plus v3.0.0 software and American Power ConversionÕs (APC) PowerChute Personal Edition v1.3.3 support Tiger but neither supported Leopard OPS X. 10.5.x. So I delayed updating to Leopard, as my of my readers know, while awaiting drivers and updates. IÕve previously owned, classic though tiger OSÕs, Belkin hardware and software systems — they worked. I have friends (<Tiger OS) who use the APC UPS systems and are pleased to recommend them.

 

 

The Belkin Story — I own and had been happy with BelkinÕs Model UPS F6C900-UNV. Initial callÕs, in February to Belkin technical support, assured me that there would be an update soon. Time passed; meanwhile I had protection from power outages and line problems, but no shutdown ability. Even our friends at HP had gotten around to updating the drivers for my older HP 8250 {Color) ScanJet. Okay, Belkin, what happening. Oh, the company had decided not to update their software support to Leopard and to add insult to injury donÕt provide that information on their website.

 

 

LetÕs Give APC a Look — Okay, after reading recent advertisements from APC in both Macworld and Mac|Life I decided to check out those UPS products. Two things, beyond the obvious drove me in that direction.

¤       First, a wide range of the APC UPSÕs were available on Amazon.com and on other Macintosh Superstore sites so I found what I needed, I could save some money.

 

¤       Secondly, when checking the APC website, I found theyÕd provided a good but slightly flawed tool {UPS Sizing Selector} for selecting the appropriate model UPS needed, a selection based on my hardware configuration and protection needs.

 

 

Great! But nowhere in the APC selection tool page was Macintosh OS, or for that part PC OS or LINUX compatibility mentioned. Okay, thatÕs not quite right (See the screen shot below) – Macintosh hardware is indeed mentioned.

 

Learning that Leopard was not supported was a longer process. First checking the specifications for my selected UPS, APC BR1500LCD 1500VA 865 Watts 8 Outlets BACK-UPS, I found that the software supported Macintosh OS  10.4.1 {PowerChute Personal Edition v1.3.3 (10.3.9 - 10.4.1)} but not Leopard. So, just because, I called APCÕs customer support line, and was pleased with their service, but appalled that they were still Òworking onÓ Leopard compliant software. My contact also confirmed that my choice of model was correct for my needs. After all Leopard was released on the 27^th of October 2007É months ago.

 

But the chase provided me a freebie tidbit -

 

Do not plug your printer into an outlet that provides battery backup power. Printers draw a very large amount of power and it is not advised that they be provided with UPS backup power because it is not economical. Many UPS for desktop use have additional surge protected outlets that do not provide backup power. This is where laser printers should be plugged in. Since laser printers are plugged into outlets that do not use the UPS battery, the presence of the laser printer does not affect UPS wattage or run time. If you do plug the Ink Jet Printer into the outlets with battery backup power, the UPS backup time during an outage will be reduced.

 

 

Okay, all right — I ran a quick check on other brands of UPS, picked on the basis of company name recognition, and found no devices that support Leopard.

 

So right now I wait, listen to weather reports, and am otherwise up the creek without a paddle. I wish I know hop to share this information with Apple; but I will send it to Macworld and Mac|Life for their information. No itÕs not false advertising, jut sheer obfuscation (e.g., the concealing of unpleasant facts.)

 

And for those of you unfamiliar with surge protectors and interruptible power supplies, read on.

 

 

Time out for definitions of functions

 

ÒA surge protector is an appliance designed to protect electrical devices from voltage spikes. A surge protector attempts to regulate the voltage supplied to an electric device by either blocking or by shorting to ground voltages above a safe threshold. The following text discusses specifications and components relevant only to the type of protector that diverts (shorts) a voltage spike to ground.Ó To learn more check out: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surge_Protector>.

 

ÒAn uninterruptible power supply also known as a continuous power supply (CPS) or a battery backup is a device which maintains a continuous supply of electric power to connected equipment by supplying power from a separate source when utility power is not available. It differs from an auxiliary power supply or standby generator, which does not provide instant protection from a momentary power interruption. Integrated systems that have UPS and standby generator components are often referred to as emergency power systems.

 

ÒThere are several distinct types of UPS: off-line, line-interactive and double conversion (also called on-line). An off-line UPS remains idle until a power failure occurs, and then switches from utility power to its own power source, almost instantaneously. An on-line UPS continuously powers the protected load from its energy reserves stored in a lead-acid battery or flywheel, while simultaneously replenishing the reserves from the AC power. It also provides protection against all common power problems. For this reason it is also known as a power conditioner and a line conditioner.Ó To learn more check out: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_power_supplies>

 

A properly design UPS with functioning software will (1) protect you computer and peripherals from power related problems for a unit defined period of time. Secondarily, (2) it save all open documents on your computer and then switch the computer off. This is the protection I need since IÕm not always at home using my system when lightening strikes or the cityÕs power fails.