For all the years I've covered power and for the thousands of interviews I've conducted, the message is, incredibly, still the same: "The engineer doesn't think about power until something goes wrong. It's an afterthought." Actually, given the ink power has drawn in recent times, I no longer believe that mantra to totally true. No doubt, though, power is still way down on the engineer's to-do list, and I believe there's danger in continuing to go that route.

The starting solution is simple; it's just not fashionable now, apparently because of an overriding notion involving the exciting world of "advanced technologies." Such a simple idea, but who will give this corner of technology the extended attention it deserves?

First, a practical appreciation for the limited nature of power resources should start in high school physics. Then the idea should be reintroduced in the first days of engineering school. Even in my day, a course on power supply design was way down on the list, in senior year.

It seems to me that all engineering candidates (that is, electrical to software) should be cognizant of power system considerations immediately after they learn basic ac and dc and take their first appropriate math courses. Finally, most companies that provide any electrical products to the industry should have a power source tutorial, even if only a small one, on their Web site to imprint power's importance on designers' minds.

It's great that such advanced supply design tools are available, but what percentage of system engineers are conditioned to approach the "bland" subject, let alone visit a relatively few equipped sites? Knowing power, and conserving it, has to be a way of life, not the last thing in life. Because, in my mind, the source powering the PC or network will always be more important than the PC or network itself.