Had the power cut out during a thunderstorm at work more times than I can imagine.

Most decidedly not fun.

On the flip side, no burnt out circuit boards. That would've been mayhem.

Lesson: keep Raiden sisters off electronics Just get a laptop already.

Keep the thing unplugged and far from windows on rainy days and you'll be fine.

WhiteCrow said:

Lesson: keep Raiden sisters off electronics Just get a laptop already.

Keep the thing unplugged and far from windows on rainy days and you'll be fine.

Or get a UPS so in case the power runs out, you still have a few minutes to save your work and shut down your computer.

WhiteCrow said:

Lesson: keep Raiden sisters off electronics Just get a laptop already.

Keep the thing unplugged and far from windows on rainy days and you'll be fine.

Or she could read doujins with her waifuassistant Hamakaze.

MikeyPhalanx said:

Or get a UPS so in case the power runs out, you still have a few minutes to save your work and shut down your computer.

The thing is, while a UPS can mitigate risks of power outage and small spikes, it can't defend against a serious lightening strike. That's why I suggest a laptop that can be unplugged at will: it's not a perfect solution, but it's a little bit more likely to save you in face of true disaster.

And anyway, I think what Akigumo's worried about is power outage, not a direct lightning strike. (Or is it?)

My solution is that you learn to press any key combinations to save your progress whenever. Like me, I translate stuff at work, and I press ctrl+s every time I hit enter. Now it's a bother using browser and in an argument over the internet.

Desktops tend to be better for economy. I've always been more keen on laptops myself, but getting a laptop with good specs costs a hefty chunk of cash, not to mention being harder to repair later.

Maybe some day when I get a real job.

Which is why I have extensions to auto save text entry in my browser! Very handy, especially on danbo.

Also notepad++ and onenote, which continually save anyway.

WhiteCrow said:

Lesson: keep Raiden sisters off electronics Just get a laptop already.

Keep the thing unplugged and far from windows on rainy days and you'll be fine.

Because someone who works at a computer all day every day is going to want to sacrifice the ergonomic comfort, capacity for simultaneous peripherals, power, and customizability of their full computer just to keep giving themselves carpal tunnel on the small amount of time they would lose to a storm?

WhiteCrow said:

The thing is, while a UPS can mitigate risks of power outage and small spikes, it can't defend against a serious lightening strike. That's why I suggest a laptop that can be unplugged at will: it's not a perfect solution, but it's a little bit more likely to save you in face of true disaster.

And anyway, I think what Akigumo's worried about is power outage, not a direct lightning strike. (Or is it?)

Actually, simply hitting the switch on the back of the power source on your tower is just as effective, and switching off your UPS/power strip will protect the other electronics, as well. Most times, I don't even bother turning my computer off, unless it's a really serious storm, though. I guess it depends on if the local cables are buried, though, and how common outages are with your provider.

Also, the odds of an actual strike on your house is astronically small. (Especially when you live in an area with trees taller than your house like I do - I'm far more worried about a falling tree crashing into the roof...)

I've always lived by the adage that if the lightning has traveled a couple thousand feet looking for a home, the inch-long fuse or metal oxide varistor isn't going to bother it much. Surge protection is designed more for handling the oddities that occur when power is restored after an outage or "blip." I had a friend whose computer and TV both detonated into flames from a lightning strike on her house as well. So, when lightning is actually in town, I tend to unplug everything I can.

That is what I hate the most about thunderstorms too, that I have to shut off my computer. Too bad I'm so lazy I usually wait until it's gotten kinda serious before I shut things down and unplug it. Also, thunder is one of the few things that can wake me up without fail.

NWSiaCB said:

Actually, simply hitting the switch on the back of the power source on your tower is just as effective, and switching off your UPS/power strip will protect the other electronics, as well. Most times, I don't even bother turning my computer off, unless it's a really serious storm, though. I guess it depends on if the local cables are buried, though, and how common outages are with your provider.

Also, the odds of an actual strike on your house is astronically small. (Especially when you live in an area with trees taller than your house like I do - I'm far more worried about a falling tree crashing into the roof...)

While astronomically small, the damage potential is enormous even if it struck within 100 meters of your backyard.

That actually happened at my house when we were out at my grandparent's house. We came home to a desktop computer, a LCD TV, a router and a UPS that got fried from the power surge. Thankfully, no fires.

Though I guess that was a really unlucky strike. The nearest lightning rod is actually about 100 meters on the other side of our house at the local church.