… and fails miserably. Even without the licking. I’ve been having the worst luck with UPS (uninterruptible power supply) battery backup units recently:

• Late last year my 1100VA CyberPower UPS died.
• Last Friday my 500VA IBM/Tripp-Lite UPS—which had signaled a problem via some indicator lights for some time—finally gave up the ghost, leaving my server and a network switch without power for a full day.
• The MinuteMan UPS in my office—backing up my primary workstation—has been emitting occasional beeps and bogus power outage signals several times a day for the past few months.

In contrast, the American Power Conversion BackUPS 600VA unit I bought while at university (after a spate of thunderstorms back in the summer of 1997) has served flawlessly for over five years. APC is truly the BMW of UPSes—markedly more expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for.