Microsoft Server Cloud FAIL, T-Mobile sidekick users data loss "almost certain"

[Consultant]

After a week long service outage, T-Mobile announced to customers: contacts,
calendar entries, to-do lists, or photos stored on Microsoft / Danger servers
“almost certainly has been lost” for sidekick phones users.

T-Mobile has paused the sale of new Sidekicks...


Article:
http://obamapacman.com/2009/10/micr...-fail-data-loss-for-t-mobile-sidekick-phones/

Ouch! Good job Microsoft.

October 15 update:
they said "most" data has been recovered. "Some" customers still will lose their data.
However, there is NO timeline of data restoration will happen.
They said check back to see "when data restoration will begin." Could it be vaporware?

 

[iPhone 62S]

*laughs smugly with iPhone in hand*

See, this is why I will never buy anything by Microsoft, and much less trust it with anything.

It's like trusting a tramp on the side of the road with your car keys... The car will dissapear, right?

 

[stomer]

I just don't get this. Where are the server backups, where are the off-site backups? Surely customer data is worth backing up?

Also, T-Mobile is advising Sidekick users to not reset/reboot their phones. This implies that the data stored on the phone is reset when the phone reboots. I'd like to know who thought that that was a good idea?

 

[iPhone 62S]

I just don't get this. Where are the server backups, where are the off-site backups? Surely customer data is worth backing up?

Also, T-Mobile is advising Sidekick users to not reset/reboot their phones. This implies that the data stored on the phone is reset when the phone reboots. I'd like to know who thought that that was a good idea?

This dude:

 

[designgeek]

I'd like to know who thought that that was a good idea?

...clearly hasn't seen the Crazy Eddy video.

 

[Eraserhead]

I just don't get this. Where are the server backups, where are the off-site backups? Surely customer data is worth backing up?

At least on some reasonable frequency it should be.

Also, T-Mobile is advising Sidekick users to not reset/reboot their phones. This implies that the data stored on the phone is reset when the phone reboots. I'd like to know who thought that that was a good idea?

Someone whose not very knowledgeable about IT.

 

[Gav2k]

I just don't get this. Where are the server backups, where are the off-site backups? Surely customer data is worth backing up?

Also, T-Mobile is advising Sidekick users to not reset/reboot their phones. This implies that the data stored on the phone is reset when the phone reboots. I'd like to know who thought that that was a good idea?

Most ms based phones are like this you have to backup or you lose everything. If the main battery goes flat you need to charge before the backup fails.

 

[Eraserhead]

Most ms based phones are like this you have to backup or you lose everything. If the main battery goes flat you need to charge before the backup fails.

That is terrible.

 

[question fear]

Most ms based phones are like this you have to backup or you lose everything. If the main battery goes flat you need to charge before the backup fails.

Actually that hasn't been the case for years and years. Now Windows Mobile phones use non-volatile memory so battery death =/= data loss.

And this issue comes from the Sidekick line, which makes me think it was Danger's flaw from the start of designing it. I doubt Microsoft made many changes since they just bought the company a year or so ago, which really isn't long enough to revamp the whole OS.

However, the founders of Danger are probably popping open champagne and thanking god that a company with deeper pockets is now on the hook for the issues instead of them...

 

[NT1440]

Wait, who the hell stores something like contacts on a cloud?? Its text!! What possible reason could there be for not saving it on the phone, you'd barely scratch a few megs with plain text!

 

[OttawaGuy]

T-Mobile Sidekick Disaster: Danger’s Servers Crashed, And They Don’t Have A Backup

 

[Consultant]

Actually that hasn't been the case for years and years. Now Windows Mobile phones use non-volatile memory so battery death =/= data loss.

And this issue comes from the Sidekick line, which makes me think it was Danger's flaw from the start of designing it. I doubt Microsoft made many changes since they just bought the company a year or so ago, which really isn't long enough to revamp the whole OS.

However, the founders of Danger are probably popping open champagne and thanking god that a company with deeper pockets is now on the hook for the issues instead of them...

Microsoft owned them for close to 2 years.

And like anything MS owned, they are probably forced to migrate to Microsoft windows servers, or the problem might be due to

forgot to pay their bills (after MS bought Hotmail)
http://news.cnet.com/Linux-community-scores-coup-in-Hotmail-outage/2100-1023_3-234966.html

"upgrading" microsoft os (another MS cloud)
http://www.infoworld.com/t/platforms/microsoft-blames-azure-outage-os-upgrade-072

 

[question fear]

Microsoft owned them for close to 2 years.

And like anything MS owned, they are probably forced to migrate to Microsoft windows servers, or the problem might be due to

forgot to pay their bills (after MS bought Hotmail)
http://news.cnet.com/Linux-community-scores-coup-in-Hotmail-outage/2100-1023_3-234966.html

"upgrading" microsoft os (another MS cloud)
http://www.infoworld.com/t/platforms/microsoft-blames-azure-outage-os-upgrade-072

Actually, Microsoft acquired them in February 2008, which means it was less than a year ago.

 

[Ambrose Chapel]

This dude:

Actually, the VP of Mobile at M$ is Roz Ho, aka, the former head of their Mac unit.

What more does this company need to frak up before we're rid of them??

 

[The Californian]

Actually, Microsoft acquired them in February 2008, which means it was less than a year ago.

That's not good math. You do know we're in 2009 ... right?

 

[jav6454]

This dude:

Great job, now I have that image stuck in my head and maybe I'll have a nightmare with that gorilla.

 

[jmann]

Lol, I used to be a sidekick user. I'm glad I'm an iPhone now. It sucks to lose all your numbers and text messages.

 

[Consultant]

Great job, now I have that image stuck in my head and maybe I'll have a nightmare with that gorilla.

Well you have not seen him sweat profusely, or the
Steve Ballmer Developers Dance Remix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmja_g5h4Fg

=p

Actually, Microsoft acquired them in February 2008, which means it was less than a year ago.

Let's see. Today is October 2009.

Take October 2009 and deduct February 2008. Difference is 1 year and 8 months...

Lol, I used to be a sidekick user. I'm glad I'm an iPhone now. It sucks to lose all your numbers and text messages.

Sound like you made a great choice. =)

 

[nonocei]

LOL. That's horrible though.

 

[pukifloyd]

damn this is horrible...poor users...its really sad to loose all contacts...

 

[Counterfit]

Not the first time cloud computing (dialing?) has screwed a T-Mobile user.

 

[Consultant]

Not the first time cloud computing (dialing?) has screwed a T-Mobile user.

At least the last time they had a problem, the data, including personal phone number and nude photos of Paris Hilton were "backed up" millions of times on the internet. =)

 

[barkomatic]

Wait, who the hell stores something like contacts on a cloud?? Its text!! What possible reason could there be for not saving it on the phone, you'd barely scratch a few megs with plain text!

This is a good reason why cloud computing in general is a bad idea.

 

[aristobrat]

And this issue comes from the Sidekick line, which makes me think it was Danger's flaw from the start of designing it. I doubt Microsoft made many changes since they just bought the company a year or so ago, which really isn't long enough to revamp the whole OS.

If the following is true, then it was a Microsoft operational error (upgrading a SAN without having a reliable backup), not a design error. Although with a company name of "Danger", I guess you would expect something like this to be their fault.

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2009/...mors-point-fingers-at-outsourcing-lack-of-ba/

Microsoft, possibly trying to compensate for lost and / or laid-off Danger employees, outsources an upgrade of its Sidekick SAN to Hitachi, which -- for reasons unknown -- fails to make a backup before starting. Long story short, the upgrade runs into complications, data is lost, and without a backup to revert to, untold thousands of Sidekick users get shafted in an epic way rarely seen in an age of well-defined, well-understood IT strategies.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

If the following is true, then it was a Microsoft operational error (upgrading a SAN without having a reliable backup), not a design error. Although with a company name of "Danger", I guess you would expect something like this to be their fault.

I heard the same rumor, but that Hitachi was the responsible party for making it go off without a hitch. While Danger is responsible for not having the backup, it's in fact Hitachi's issue as they are the ones who botched the upgrade.

Either way, it sucks.