PC backup battery idea

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why hasn’t anyone come up with a PC battery that acts like a laptop battery? i.e. it goes inside the desktop PC to prevent an unexpected power loss situation (blackout, brownout, accidental tripping the cord). not quite a UPS, but basically just a laptop battery type thing you stick in the PC. feel me?

  • http://thelionsweb.com/weblog jc

    Probably because a UPS system does the job better than a battery would… desktops don’t have to be portable after all (well, excepting LAN party people, which aren’t exactly a majority)

    But I’m sure there’s something out there somewhere.

  • joelb

    affordablity and feasibilty are the keys to this idea.

    1st:
    UPSs are not cheap (for average Joe(l) types). If the battery is cheap and has some kool some configuration options, geeks will eat it up.

    2nd:
    How does it interface with the mobo, where does it fit into the case, will the average Joe(l) be able to install this battery w/o too much trouble? Can it fit into existing case form factors? Will it go into a drive bay? Will you have to crack the case when the battery goes bad?

    I think it’s a good idea… will it make you rich? Depends on too many factors to tell – If it’s hocked as the poorman’s UPS, you’ll probably be able to sell a buttload. Have you pitched it to any VCs yet?? ;)

    Joelb

  • http://jon.madisons.com jon

    i originally got the idea a few days ago, when i was in a room we had set up adhoc with a bunch of computer workstations, cables all over, and i had almost accidentally tripped over one. in a lot of cases, the bulky UPS is an afterthought (or no thought) in situations like this.

    and what about those cats that tote their PCs to LAN parties?

    Probably because a UPS system does the job better than a battery would

    that’s never stopped other technologies that win (or are popular enough to survive) sheerly on their convenience. take my phone cam for example. :)

    affordablity and feasibilty are the keys to this idea.

    exactly–i had thought about both when i first came up with the idea, and really came to the conclusion that i don’t know about the details; i just think that it’s something that you could (eventually) produce at a relatively low cost enough to sell a gang of them. again one market could be the LAN party crowd that actually do tote systems with them from time to time.

    but yeah feasibility–the main issue i can think of is the cooling (good idea about the drive bay–i hadn’t even thought beyond a tiny one in PCI slot) and the space it would take up.

    another thought — dont’ discount that this “more portable UPS” could possibly just be one cog in the wheel of an all around more portable desktop system of the future.

    one thing i’m looking forward to, speaking of power, is something like a ‘charging plate’ — that you can set your stuff down on and it will charge it, regardless of what kind of charger your device will need. as a “road warrior”, i’d pick that up and throw away all the wallwarts i pack in my backpack, in a minute! (this idea didn’t come from me, i saw it somewhere i cannot recall :)

  • joy

    I just got back from a trip to Sam’s Club, and I didn’t look super carefully at this thing, but they were selling, next to the computers, a backup power source for your pc in case of accidental power outages. I didn’t check at all for length of power help or anything like that, but it was basically the size of a laptop external Hard Drive, (maybe a little bigger like the woofer I have under my computer table) and it was suposed to keep your work from being ruined by a power failure.

  • http://jon..madisons.com jon

    joy, that’s what a “traditional” UPS is. unfortunately, you didn’t know this because i’m a bad boy and don’t have them on *any* of our computers(GASP). what i’m talking about here is the same thing, only smaller, that goes *inside* your PC. it wouldn’t work as long as a traditional UPS, but long enough to save work and shut down, or give you time enough to plug back in if someone trips the cord.

  • joy

    I figured as much, the more I read about it.