| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Do you have a set backup plan for power/internet outages during work? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you have a set backup plan for power/internet outages during work?".
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It's a good excuse to go out and do something else.
If it's a really long outage and/or I must deliver on time or be shot, I suppose I'd go to the nearest powered place where I can plug in my (desktop) computer.
I used to toy with the idea of getting a serious power generator, but I built an anti-atomic shelter instead.
Philippe
Edit: Internet outage is a non-issue nowadays as long as you have GSM coverage and a smartphone (tethering).
[Edited ... See more It's a good excuse to go out and do something else.
If it's a really long outage and/or I must deliver on time or be shot, I suppose I'd go to the nearest powered place where I can plug in my (desktop) computer.
I used to toy with the idea of getting a serious power generator, but I built an anti-atomic shelter instead.
Philippe
Edit: Internet outage is a non-issue nowadays as long as you have GSM coverage and a smartphone (tethering).
[Edited at 2023-03-17 08:33 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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I can’t remember the last time I had a power outage and I have an UPS on my main PC. Lately I’m having some Internet problems (curiously enough since I moved to the optical fibre network), but they last just a minute or so. Anyway, I’m quite sure my clients would understand this kind of situation as I’m known to deliver quite often ahead of the deadline. One of my daughters lives three blocks away so my ultimate backup plan will be to keep working “chez elle”.
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 17:52
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
When I lived in a country with regular power outages, I used a UPS that gave me 3 minutes of power so that I could save my work (in addition to protecting my computer against surges), and I had a petrol generator capable of powering the computer and a couple of lights. And I had a mobile internet subscription that I could use for when the phone lines were down (this was before smart phones, so dialling into mobile internet using a computer required a dongle with a SIM card).
[Edited at 2... See more When I lived in a country with regular power outages, I used a UPS that gave me 3 minutes of power so that I could save my work (in addition to protecting my computer against surges), and I had a petrol generator capable of powering the computer and a couple of lights. And I had a mobile internet subscription that I could use for when the phone lines were down (this was before smart phones, so dialling into mobile internet using a computer required a dongle with a SIM card).
[Edited at 2023-03-17 08:59 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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I am from Ukraine, we had really a lot of power outages this winter, sometimes we had light just several hours a day, but generators save the situation, so I worked without any interruptions.
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:52
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| UPS or temporary relocation | Mar 17, 2023 |
I have a decent UPS, but any unscheduled power outages longer than 10-15 minutes will require me to wait until the power returns. I don't remember when we last had one of those. If it's a strictly local outage, I can work at the house of a relative who lives half an hour away by car.
Dan
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 17:52
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| Only for several hours | Mar 17, 2023 |
Both my laptops are always fully charged. In case of a power outage I could work on either one or both for several hours. Not that I ever needed them. It does happen maybe once a year or every two years that the power is out for a few minute - if that long.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 17:52
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
My backup plan consists of cursing and gradually panicing more as the hours pass by. Works every time, because things always return to normal after that.
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Kimberly Wastler
United States
Local time: 11:52
Member (2005)
Italian to English
+ ...
| Of course! And I have had to use it a lot this winter. | Mar 17, 2023 |
Living in a rural area, I have to! My home has a backup gasoline generator for power outages (snow and wind - a bit loud, but it does the job and keeps me warm and working). I have a hotspot on my mobile phone for when the landline goes out - and a power pack to charge the phone at least twice (two days reserve). My computer is a laptop with about 8-hour battery life.
I have used a UPS with a desktop, but I prefer the laptop's flexibility for working outside, and it's so easy to use... See more Living in a rural area, I have to! My home has a backup gasoline generator for power outages (snow and wind - a bit loud, but it does the job and keeps me warm and working). I have a hotspot on my mobile phone for when the landline goes out - and a power pack to charge the phone at least twice (two days reserve). My computer is a laptop with about 8-hour battery life.
I have used a UPS with a desktop, but I prefer the laptop's flexibility for working outside, and it's so easy to use an external monitor.
If I'm travelling and run out of power for some reason (which happened this winter as I was running around hospitals and using public transportation), I stop off at a café to recharge and work. Even the tiny little places have Wi-Fi, and I have never had anyone say I couldn't plug in when I asked.
This comes after working for years in a small mountain valley in Italy before hotspots, Bluetooth connectivity, and reasonably priced UPS. After losing too many hours of work (because even autosave was too infrequent) due to power outages caused simply by forgetting that the washing machine was running and turning on the electric kettle, I fell in love with translation memories as live backups. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 17:52
French to English
I voted no, but then reading the answers I see that of course I have backup plans. Right now I'm not at home, and I'm pumping internet off my mobile phone, and of course I could do that at home if necessary. And I could also easily go somewhere else.
However, I'm lucky to live in a place where power and internet outages are so rare I don't even remember last time I was affected. Certainly not since I became a freelancer which was nearly six years ago.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 17:52
Spanish to English
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When power cuts happen here, which is comparatively often, I usually just have to wait until it comes back on. Same goes for the Internet, although outages are less frequent. If I'm really desperate, I can go somewhere else that has power and an Internet connection, for example friends who live nearby, or an Internet café or whatever.
| | | | Ana Vozone
Local time: 16:52
Member (2010)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Equipment for power/internet outages | Mar 17, 2023 |
I installed a UPS to ensure I have enough time to save whatever I am working on, I also have mobile Internet (hotspot/dongle) that I can use anywhere and lasts for a couple of hours, and my laptop is always ready / on standby so that I can continue to work (using a pen drive onn my desktop computer where I always save my work until after I have actually sent it to the client). So, I have a 4-part system: UPS/battery, mobile Internet, laptop (to use in lieu of my usual desktop computer) and a pen... See more I installed a UPS to ensure I have enough time to save whatever I am working on, I also have mobile Internet (hotspot/dongle) that I can use anywhere and lasts for a couple of hours, and my laptop is always ready / on standby so that I can continue to work (using a pen drive onn my desktop computer where I always save my work until after I have actually sent it to the client). So, I have a 4-part system: UPS/battery, mobile Internet, laptop (to use in lieu of my usual desktop computer) and a pen drive with my current work. ▲ Collapse
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IrinaN
United States
Local time: 10:52
English to Russian
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| Smartphone was never a part of my translation activities other than calls and emergency texts | Mar 18, 2023 |
2 fully charged laptops, power pack, solar pack on the balcony with a cord long enough to run it through the cat door while I'm at my desk, backlit keyboards, cordless lamps and unlimited hotspot would cover whatever brief and extremely seldom power/internet outages I might experience. I can't even remember ever engaging all that weaponry at once. My problem with longer outages would be the air conditioner in summer, since in 30 minutes under 100 F heat and 88% humidity outside you'll be wishing... See more 2 fully charged laptops, power pack, solar pack on the balcony with a cord long enough to run it through the cat door while I'm at my desk, backlit keyboards, cordless lamps and unlimited hotspot would cover whatever brief and extremely seldom power/internet outages I might experience. I can't even remember ever engaging all that weaponry at once. My problem with longer outages would be the air conditioner in summer, since in 30 minutes under 100 F heat and 88% humidity outside you'll be wishing you were dead, and those 30 minutes are needed to catch my cats, pack up and get out while you can still move and breeze inside. So who cares about work. Even the most unfriendly customer would roll over, hearing that in Houston your A/C is gone and you need to find a work place where it works. Most likely, they would kindly offer some delay since true life and death translation emergencies are ever rarer than my power outages. I know when there is a real one, without extra push. Then my prime client will invite me on site, which is 1.8 miles away, or the agency will reassign the job, and since I tend to work fast and thoroughly proofread fairly short pieces before the final check, I'll have a decent chunk to forward.
So, unless it's a hurricane aftermath and power is lost for miles around, no worries, I got you covered, my dear customer. But I doubt I'd accept anything, watching a hurricane brewing or dealing with the consequences. I have animals to evacuate! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tanja Oresnik
Slovenia
Local time: 17:52
French to Slovenian
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Unless working on a laptop with a good battery counts? I use a laptop with a big external monitor, so power outages aren't really an issue for me. As for the internet - we have very good mobile service coverage in my area, so I don't worry about it.
| | | | Noura Tawil
Syria
Local time: 18:52
Member (2013)
English to Arabic
My 'backup' plan is in fact my main plan. Where I live, we get between 2 and 4 hours of electricity a day. I would not be able to work without my dedicated 40 AMP office battery, all complete with a battery charger and laptop adapter. My LED light is also connected to this battery.
As for internet connection, it rarely goes off. But I have mobile data at an acceptable speed for these rare times, and for when I'm out.
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