Aside from the popular delivery company, UPS stands for Uninterruptible Power Supply. It’s a rechargeable battery in a case that sits between your computer and the wall outlet. You plug your computer into the UPS, and you plug the UPS into the wall. The battery provides a clean, steady supply of electricity to your computer, guarding against voltage fluctuations, dips, surges, or spikes. All of these can cause your computer to "hiccup" and damage or lose data. If severe enough, the computer itself could be damaged. In the event of a power failure, a UPS provides enough electricity to keep your computer running long enough to save your data to disk and exit your program in an orderly fashion, preventing a possible catastrophic data loss. The more important your data (or the more unreliable your electric supply), the more you need a UPS for your computer. Prices start at about $100 for a single-computer model.
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