Today George Starcher and I talk about power management and my disaster that provided the lesson I needed.

 

Tonight’s show is brought to you by:

SmileOnMyMac and Drobo

TMUP Drobo Deals

Help Victor and the show by purchasing items at the Typical Mac User Amazon Store

 

Show Notes

Wikipedia UPS

APC 1500VA Battery Backup with LCD $175.00

Monster MP PRO 1000 with Clean Power Stage 2, 2775 Joule Surge Protection

shutdown -u Manual Page

Radio Toupe article on how to do shutdown -u script

 

What to look for in modern ups units regardless of manufacturer:

1.  Information display on front.  Shows capacity remaining, load etc

.2.  Does it talk to your computer EVEN Mac via USB?

3.  When was the last time they updated their control software for Mac?  And can the software tell the Mac to shutdown in power loss mode?

4.  Do they use clever plug enhancements such as right angle or rotating plugs?

5.  Pay attention to total number of outlets vs surge/battery outlet distribution.

6.  What type of insurance level does the unit provide?

7.  Can you control the alarm beeping?  3am beeping will drive you nuts.

8.  Does the unit have surge outlets for network cables?9.  Does the unit provide network based management instead of USB?Rule of Thumb Run Times:In my experience with a 21” approx iMac, minor peripherals with an external hard drive.Capacity

Run Time

 

 

 

 

 

Approx Cost

550VA5-7 mins$601000VA15-20 mins$1301200VA30 mins$1701500VA45 mins$200What does ups unit distribution look like in George’s house?1.  Cable Modem + Router with attached hard drive.  UPS 1000VA (this can run an hour on this UPS)2.  21” iMac with two external drives, UPS 1100VA auto shutdown configured. (I will get more like 30 mins if display is asleep)3.  42” TV with Mac Mini and Xbox 360, UPS 1000VA; only mac mini is usually on.4.  Living room TV and Direct TV receiver, UPS 1500VA

5.  Bedroom alarm clock, Cordless phone base station 550VA

UPS Maintenance:

You should change out your batteries every two years.  There are different options.1.  APC is good about sending you a recall box to recycle old batteries if you order new ones.2.  Maybe you have something like a Batteries+ store nearby and they will recycle your old ones.3.  Have a good grounded outlet.4.  DO NOT use a UPS if you think the unit has taken a significant electrical hit.  I have a UPS that blew up a new TV because the UPS was damaged and sending out bad power levels.5.  Check your UPS units at least every month or two for temperature.  If they are damaged and cause over heating charging you could have a fire.  I have only seen this once ever.  But it could have been bad.  I also place UPS units on a piece of floor tile which is on my carpet to keep the UPS from being insulated by the carpet.

APC Battery Near Disaster Photo:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Listener Eric wrote to me and asked the following question. “When you had guest speaker Andrew Darlow he mentioned during the interview that his friend was able to put his digital images on film and then print them.  He also noted that he was able to get huge prints by doing this.  I checked the show notes but wasn’t able to find any information on how this was done.  Would you be able to provide any information about this.”

Well of course I went to Andrew Darlow, award-winning author, photographer and editor of imagingbuffet.com, and he offers this answer:

Regarding the question of sending images to film and then making prints, there are a few ways to do that:

1. The first option is by creating a new high resolution negative or positive, which can be output from a digital file at a very high quality on a film recorder. You can then print from those new negatives/positives just like you would make prints in a conventional darkroom using a negative from a roll of film. For example, an enlarger made for 35mm film can be used with a digitally output 35mm negative. It’s often cost effective to gang up multiple images on a single sheet of 4×5 inch or 8×10 inch film (note that the sizes for 4×5 and 8×10 are not exactly 4×5 and 8×10 inches). I can highly recommend one company for help with prepping your files and for outputting the film. I’ve visited their location and it is impressive. The company is Tech Photo & Imaging, based in NJ, and their website is:http://www.technicalphoto.com. Ask for John Castronovo.

2. Another option is to use a high quality inkjet printer or film recorder to make a “contact negative” from a digital file that matches the size of the image on paper. That negative is usually contact printed using a contact print frame. A friend of mine, Dan Burkholder, has taught many how to do this process. You can find out more here on his website: www.danburkholder.com (Click on the “Digital Negatives” link on the right side of Dan’s site for valuable resources. Interestingly, HP recently came out with software for one of their printers that helps people make digital negatives. The press release is here: http://tinyurl.com/39mml5g.

And for a great overview and slideshow of the Platinum/Palladium printing process, visit this page: http://tinyurl.com/36kjous . Even though many prefer to do Platinum/Palladium printing with these negatives, you can also do traditional silver halide contact prints or just about any other darkroom process using this approach.

For many more links to articles by Andrew Darlow and photo/imaging tips by others who he links to, visit his Facebook Fan Page here: http://www.Facebook.com/andrewdarlow . The companion sites for his two books have free chapter downloads and hundreds of links to more information: 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques: An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers - http://www.inkjettips.com and Pet Photography 101: Tips for Taking Better Photos of Your Dog or Cat -http://www.PhotoPetTips.com.

Tonight I do a primer for Time Machine. This is specially good for new users of Time Machine. George Starcher gives a great GMail Tip as well as a review of a very cool iPhone-iPad GPS like application called Motion X GPS Drive

 

The show is brought to you by:

SmileOnMyMac and Drobo

Show Notes:

Time Machine Basics from Apple

Time Capsule

George Starcher

Motion X demonstration

Motion X GPS Drive