So you know I try to keep this blog all about tech. But this one may be or not be. In a way it is. Because if power goes off, then how will you use your tech devices? What’s going on with power outages?
So first, let’s talk about Target. It’s one of America’s largest retailers. . Saturday, at approximately 2pm Eastern Time, an power outage caused most target cash registers to stop working. That meant all shopping came to a complete standstill. This was on a Saturday afternoon, already a busy day. But this was the day before Fathers Day! They did get power back up by 5pm Eastern. However, the next day, many stores only took cash and gift cards. Target leaders say this was not a security breach, but an ‘internal technological issue’. That’s all they’re saying about it.
Then there was the massive power outage in South America. Last night, it left 40 million people in the dark over several nations. Argentina’s president said this power outage is unprecedented. Uruguay residents say they never saw anything like it. It wasn’t just lights out. IT services like social media and smartphones stopped. So did public transit systems. They had to stop food and water supplies. Even medical supplies were hindered. Thankfully, for the most part, they got power back on by the end of the day. However, investigations of a cause will take many days.
I wish I could tell you these were the only power outages in the world over the past weekend. But I can’t. Here in Boston, home of our computer repair headquarters, this happened to our subway systems, or as we call it, The T. My concern is that things like this will keep happening if we don’t hurry and do something. It could be by accident. Or worse, a hacker or foriegn enemy could cause a power outage. And look at the chaos they cause. So I ask again. What’s going on with power outages?