Rant: My home office setup in Seattle failed me during a big client call

I was on a Zoom pitch with a new client in Chicago when my power strip, which had my laptop, monitor, and ring light all plugged in, just sparked and died. I had to finish the call on my phone in my kitchen, which was a mess. Do you keep a backup power source in your workspace, or is that overkill?

4 comments

4 Comments

waderamirez2mo agoMost Upvoted

A backup power strip is the bare minimum, you should really have a UPS for the important gear.

caseywalker2mo ago

What about just using a surge protector?

fisher.jessica1mo ago

Power strips are fine for most people. A UPS is just another gadget that beeps and needs battery swaps. If the power goes out for real, those few minutes don't help much anyway. It's extra money and clutter for a rare problem. My stuff has survived just fine with a basic strip for years.

aaronw592mo ago

A UPS for important gear" feels like a lot. That's for servers and medical equipment. My power strip died once too, I just plugged my laptop into the wall to finish the call. Most of the time the power is fine. If it goes out completely, a UPS only gives you a few minutes anyway. It seems like an extra thing to buy and worry about for a problem that hardly ever happens.