I remember The Register, early attempt at blogging, surprisingly still going - Charlie Hoult
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Solar activity threatens to mash up communications
OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD star is getting frisky and could cause problems for new-fangled technology, boffins warned today.
The sun goes a bit potty every 11 years or so, apparently, and the appearence of a sunspot visible from the northern hemisphere has rung alarm bells at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
"This sunspot is like the first robin of spring," said solar physicist Douglas Biesecker of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.
"It is an early omen of solar storms that will gradually increase over the next few years," he said.
As if we didn't have enough to worry about with global warming and all that business, now we're told that "devastating" solar storms could occur at any time.
During such storms, the sun ejaculates highly charged material that may head towards Earth, where it can bring down power grids, disrupt communications, GPS systems, mobile phones and even cash points, the boffins fear.
Satellites and astonauts are articularly at risk it seems.
The new 11-year cycle, called Solar Cycle 24, is expected to build gradually to reach a maximum by 2011 or 2012. ยต
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So when PC's start crapping out in 2010 buy shares of Intel. If AMD does somehow regain the performance lead by then, buy some of their stock too. By 2013 you might double your money.

Meanwhile backup your important data on optical media and leave room in the budget for new hardware.

Or give your PC a grounded tin-foil hat.
My computer just fouled it's Master Boot Record!
Reading your article, I wondered about our own system safety to solar activity. Since the last period of high activity was probably 7-8 years ago, will our new, more sensitive to electrical spike, CPU and GPU be affect by it? 

Considering that communication equipement will be affected by this, it might as well "blow" a few cpu at the same time. Unless we're talking about comm satellites of course. 

Oh my! Will I have to make a prayer every time I start my PC? ;-)

"The new 11-year cycle, called Solar Cycle 24, is expected to build gradually to reach a maximum by 2011 or 2012."
Oh no, not again. Remember back in 2000, when the last Solar Cycle devastated half of the Earth's technology?