To set up this unit, you first have to open it up to plug the battery terminals in. Then, you plug it in to a wall outlet, connect your computer and other devices to it, any press the power button.

A battery backup is one of the most important accessories for a computer. It provides the ability to save important documents and shut down without worry about damage to your computer components in the event of a power failure. But that's not all it will do. It will provide some great surge protection and will clean up the electricity coming into your computer.

Of course, the most important feature is the ability to run off battery power. With this 450 watt unit, I am able to run my G5, a 17 inch CRT monitor, USB hub, and a wireless router for approximately 8 to 10 minutes. This provides plenty of time to stop what I am doing, and shut everything down. A less powerful computer will run for much longer.

The next best feature is the cleansing of the power that goes into your computer. Normal wall outlets provide "dirty" power, where the voltage and frequency often fluctuates. While this is no big deal for your desk lamp or fan, this can cause problems with the delicate parts of a computer. The UPS will use its battery and some extra circuitry to flatten out the power, making it much more consistent. This can only be good for your computer.

Of course, what would a UPS be without some heavy duty surge protection. This particular model has 8 surge protected outlets (4 of which are battery backup outlets), and will also protect the ethernet or phone line coming into your computer. I have had lighting strikes destroy modems because the phone line was not surge protected. You don't want the same happening to your computer.

Possibly the weakest feature of this product is the software that can control it. The APC PowerChute software provides the capability to shut down your computer in the event of a power outage. You can set it to shut your computer down x minutes after the power outage occurs, or x minutes before the battery dies. However, it does not provide other statistics for the UPS such as battery time remaining, power load, etc. Luckily, Panther comes to the rescue. Stuck way down in /System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras is an item called Battery.menu. Double clicking this will bring up a battery status indicator in the menu bar, that will interact with the UPS. It will show you if you are running off AC or battery power, as well as percentage of battery left and how long until your battery runs out (estimated). This is a great feature to be integrated into the OS.

I have had no problems using this device.

This thing has saved my bacon many times in the few months I have owned it. When the power goes out, I do not have to worry about my G5 getting harmed, which is one of the best conveniences in the world! I recommend everyone get one of these for their computer(s).

Pros	Cons
Power in the event of a power outage Clean electricity coming into your computer Heavy surge protection for electrical devices, an ethernet connection, and telephone lines Panther communicates with this device to show battery level Resettable circuit breaker Connects to any USB Mac Can also power non computer devices (such as lamps, etc.)	APC PowerChute software has limited features (See Update above)
9/10 stars