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user47 | September 11, 2009 01:02 AM | in Computers & Electronics

Old school tech: What were those short wide beige boxes with amber lit power switches on them called?

People would normally sit their monitors on top of them, they had labeled power switches on them which would light up when turned on. There was a switch for PC, one for monitor, one for printer, and I believe one for "AUX". Anyone know what they were called? Brand or model number perhaps?

tags: oldschool , tech , retro

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BEST ANSWER decided by votes | smartweb | September 11, 2009 09:19 PM

funny you should ask...

i have one sitting on my desk to make my monitor higher.

it is a Memorex Power Center.

they are normally called power strips or power centers, or even surge protectors... and they work like a normal power strip does, but they sit out of the way under a monitor.

they are still around, but look much sleeker now.

here's a link to several that Amazon.com has:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=power+center&x=0&y=0

this one is an example of one with a built in surge protector... however, i'd still have a battery backup/surge as well rather than relying on one of these.

Tripp Lite TMC-6 6-Outlet Under Monitor Surge Protector (1850 Joules, Tel/DSL) by Tripp Lite

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31lwTPNvlFL._SL160_AA115_.jpg

source(s):
personal experience and amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords...
http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-TMC-6-6-Outlet-Protector/dp/B0000AKA90/ref...

tags: surge-protector, power-center

voted helpful: socalsue, user47

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user47 | September 25, 2009 03:44 PM

Great, Thanks!

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librarian | September 11, 2009 01:23 AM

If I am thinking of the correct thing, it was called a Power Distribution Unit, PDU
Here's an example from the CNET archive

PDU 24A-LOW L5-30P IN 12X5-15R OUT (discontinued)