[PLUG] UPS Recommendations

[Richard C. Steffens]

I had another power failure today, this time while I was doing some 
Googling. The interruption was brief -- a few seconds -- but my computer 
lost power. I didn't lose anything important and the computer is running 
again, but now it is plugged into a surge protector strip instead of the 
old Belkin battery backup. When the power came back on -- within seconds 
of going off -- I was not able to start the Belkin without pulling its 
power cord.

I pulled the battery and it reads 13 point something volts. I never did 
find the receipt for this battery but I know it has to be more than two 
years old and probably more than three. Printed on the battery is the 
statement: Replacement 3-5 years.

I can't really tell if the problem is the battery or the Belkin, but 
this model Belkin doesn't have a computer connection for monitoring. So, 
I'm thinking I'll replace the Belkin with a newer model that has a USB 
connection I can plug into the computer. I Googled Ubuntu and battery 
backup and found various folks who have had problems but no solutions. I 
see that Pacific Solutions lists four models on their web site. One is 
an APCBack-UPS CS 500VA. The other three are CyberPower models, AVR800, 
CP685AVR, and 1200AVR. All of them have USB ports, and all of them are 
rated for much more than I'm using.

What model(s) -- either one of those mentioned above or something else 
available locally -- do you all recommend? The load is about 330 VA, and 
I'm running Ubuntu 10.04.

Thanks for any advice.

-- 
Regards,

Dick Steffens