http://www.indoorgenerator.com/ sorry about the missing link. note to self: increase red bull consumption by 100%. i forgot to add an important part of dis preparedness - redundant internet connections! example would be cable and dsl both run through a dual wan router. you can buy them on amazon. just type in - wait for it - dual wan router in the search box. the duolinks seems to be the way to go. peplink has good reviews but is WAY too expensive considering duolinks does the same thing for less. a dual wan router has automatic failover meaning if one connection fails the router switches to the backup. this is just like backup power - you don't want to be unable to trade - esp during an emergency like a stop is blown through - b/c your internet is down. like another poster said you could go to a place like sbux w/ free wifi but that takes time to pack your stuff/drive/park/connect/etc. those 20 mins or so are an eternity for traders. if you don't want to pay for another internet connection you could trade on your smartphone if you have one. make sure you have the trading app downloaded BEFORE the crisis hits and you know how to use it. a lot of times the mobile app is a lot diff than the desktop software so know how to use it. remember in a crisis you need familiarity. if you want to use your phone as a modem (tethered) you can do that to either by paying your carrier (t, vz, s) or using apps that let you tether (program called tether for blackberry - mywi for iphone - lets you tether using your data plan. be careful about using the pdanet program for tethering b/c i believe it WON'T work on encrypted websites which all trading apps are (if they're not switch broker now!). got to run. keep the questions coming.
That's how I did it. Computers are on battery/surge banks. If the power is out for more than 30seconds, my 45kw quietsource generator fires up. The 500gallon propane tank lasts about a week. I know it's a bit overkill. I could have easily used a 20 or 30kw, but they were 4cylinder engines that ran pretty high rpms, The 45kw has a V6 Chrysler that hums at about 1500 rpms. Super quiet.
killingtheta is def prepared. although ups battery back up should be more than adequate for 99% of the times the power flickers/goes out for a few minutes anything longer than that will require more power (as tim the tool man from home improvement would say). if you have a lot of faith in your utility company AND mother nature (hurricane katrina?) to bless you then there's no need for a generator. say your power only goes out for a whole trading day once every five years, depending on the amount you're trading and your time frame (position traders won't care and maybe some swing traders) it's worth it to prevent a black swan from causing you to miss out on a gain/take a huge loss that wouldn't have happened if you had power. i'm not saying you need to think of every extreme possibility and try to hedge against it (a meteor could hit tomorrow what to do?!), just try to look out for problems that could reasonably effect us as traders.
While I'm certain there are situations that need a power source that can supply 10 days of electricity, I really can't see how any day trader would need something like that. Worse, any event that would require being on a backup system for that length of time would have most likely taken out most forms of digital communication along with it. Personally, my setup has 4 screens. A workstation with dual monitors and a laptop with an external monitor. Trades are managed on the laptop. It's battery lasts about 2hrs and is connected directly to the router/firewall. It and the cable modem are powered by a UPS that also lasts about 2hrs. That's more than enough time to bridge 99% of the power loss events that we've experienced over the last 13 years we've lived here.
My power goes out quite often. We have a big storm moving through today and it has gone out once already. It usually lasts a couple minutes. Unfortunately I have not figured out how to make my internet connection seamless. I have ATT/DSL and comcast cable, and both go out when the hurricanes come through. During Francis and Jean,(2004ish?) I had no internet connection for almost two weeks. At least my beer and steaks stayed cold. I would take my laptop to a nearby Starbucks and manage my swing positions from there. My neighbors have joked about how much money I have spent on this "overkill" for the sake of having electricity. However, when the power goes out, they know who's house to come to for a cold one.
Unfortunately I cant use a whole house system myself bcuz I live in a condo, but those whole house systems are pretty nice to have.
If you are a daytrader, you need UPS - even transferring to a laptop can lose you a fortune over news releases because it takes 20-30s to relog to your account. I used to have 2 units that gave 8 hours power. Remember to hook up your router too. If you trade longer-term, then a laptop with a decent 6-7 hour battery, and a 3g wireless internet card, is sufficient if you have a place nearby where you can charge between trading days (e.g. internet cafe, friends house, and so on). A smartphone with internet access and a decent battery (e.g. iPhone) is a good 3rd backup. This should be enough if you live in the civilised world. If you want to go more hardcore, get solar panels installed, and buy a generator - a bicycle dynamo generator is a good option if your power usage is not too high, otherwise get a conventional fuel-powered generator. These should cover you for extended power cuts even in 3rd world countries.