[in the flesh?]

what is the best uninterupted power supply for around a hundred dollars and can you have two computers hooked up to one.

[GORDYmac]

I doubt you'll find one for that price that will load two Macs. I have one for $79, and it won't power up if my iMac, iSub, and USB Hub are plugged into the Battery Backup. Now only the iMac and the USB Hub (FWIW) are plugged into it.

[Burchell]

I too am looking for a UPS and am a bit confused on the new products by APC (apcc.com) There seems to be a new USB product that has MacOS software (at least as it is listed at Outpost.com - it highlights the fact that it is the first APC product for the Mac) although the APC website does not reflect this. Has anyone purchased this new product.

[Gregory]

I have a couple APCC incl the new Back-UPS 350 USB and am still waiting on the software. I think they are excellent units and offer years of service. Of course there are other companies out there. The 350 is fine for single workstation, the 650 would probably be better for extra load of 2nd or of lot of peripherals.

I paid $149 for 350 and considering outlets, battery backup and protection for phone line am satisfied. I wish it came with cable/ethernet for DSL/Cable modems as well for which I had to buy another device.

Greg

I waited and waited until some UPSs went on sale at a local store; I ended up with the smallest, cheapest one APC made, the Back-UPS 200, for $80. They said you couldn't put 2 computers on it... baloney! I got an iMac, Performa, printer, 2 plugstrips, and my stereo on the thing, and I get at least 5-10 minutes time after this place goes dark.
APC sucks as a company though because they spent so many years ignoring the need for mac software/cabling to auto-shutdown a mac during those 5-10 mins... screw em! Get some power through one of those powerstrips with UPS or go with an UPS from Belkin, at least they got USB/Mac OS 9 compatibility.

I've long been a supporter of APC products, but have decided to make my next purchase from a vendor which suports the Mac. I've bought about two dozen APC devices in the past few years, all the way from little 200 VA units to gigantic 2200 VA units to backup phone systems. While APC has made noises from time to time about supporting the Mac, it's clear that they have abandoned the Mac market per se. They still advertise in Mac publications, but the Mac version of PowerChute has not been updated since System 7 and so does not support USB at all. There are now other vendors stepping up to fill the void with UPS units which communicate with the Mac via USB for unattended shutdown. If APC had any plans to bring Mac software or Mac-compatible hardware to market, it's safe to assume they wold have announces at Expo last month.

[jwardell]

I have an MGE Pulsar Ellipse 500 and I love it. I got it for $109 and it could probably handle two computers. You might want to spend slightly more and get the 800. They offer MacOS 9/Energy Saver support, are good-looking, and offer more bang for the buck than other brands. Check 'em out http://www.mgeups.com

-Josh

If you're looking for the absolute best UPS on the market, you can't go wrong with APC. They're the only manufacturer I recommend.

While I do wish they would have better Mac support for their powerchute software, I know that when it comes down to it, there's nothing out there that is going to protect my Mac better. I'm not going to switch to another brand that is going to leave my Mac fried when crunch times comes.

A small ISP I set-up and adminster, which is predominantly Mac-based, is protected by APC equipment. Sure, I don't get the integration with the PowerChute software, but so what? PowerChute only really comes in handy when your UPS is running out of power. When you're running mission-critical stuff, you don't want to run out of power. Buy enough batteries so your run time is more than enough and/or get a backup generator. This APC unit and all other APC hardware that I've used hasn't failed me yet.

Don't believe me? Go ahead and check out all the specs, talk to people who have used all manner of UPS, do some research on the Internet, etc. You'll find that APC products are very well respected.

I had been looking for an UPS and the only store close by was Staples. I bought a Belkin 650 for $179. It states on the box for Power Mac G3 & G4. I have a B&W G3. The software that comes in the box is for windows, but you can download the Mac USB software from the Belkin site http://www. belkin.com The software says it is for Mac system 9.0.4, but I am using it with system 8.6 and have had no problems. It has line conditioning and protection for your phone line.

I got a Belkin Regulator Pro, which I like especially because its output is regulated, a feature that other brands seem not to have. (This protects you better against brownouts and surges.) I have it powering both a Mac and a PC, but unfortunately it's not big enough (325 VA) to run both computers plus the monitor as well (with wall power on, I mean). I recommend Belkin; just make sure you get one with a large enough capacity.

[bradvan]

I used the Pulsar Ellipse 500 from MGE UPS for a few months, but I had many problems with it. It would not turn on fast enough in a power outage to keep my iMac from losing power. The iMac would stay on once I upgraded the firmware (Apple's fault). Then, for some reason, the phone line protection stopped working. The UPS made too much noise on the phone line to even be usable. The UPS also would not let the phone hang up. It kept the line tied up all the time. I by-passed that protection, but then the UPS would not handle fast cycles of power going on and off (as occassionally happens here).

I finally replaced it with an APC Back-Ups Pro 500 (BP500CLR). This is the clear version and the only APC product I know of that has support for the Mac. The software seems to work well with OS 9.0.4. I have had no problems in the 3 or 4 weeks since I have had it, but it has only gone through one or two outages with no problems.

I don't know if it would support two machines. The APC shutdown manager control panel software that shipped with it indicates how much run-time is available with the present load. It also changes as the battery discharges in an outage. Right now the battery is fully charged and indicates that I have about 29 minutes of run-time with an iMac DV SE, Zip 250 USB, 7 port USB hub, and USB SuperDisk drive all plugged in. It should run two computers for at least ten minutes by my guess. But the cost is not cheap, about $170 list according to APC. I got mine for $157 from www.firstsource.com

Most APC UPS's have power regulation (brownout protection). Their lowest end models may not have it, I believe. Just check the specs. I think brownout protection is definitely something you should have.