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T-Mobile data loss allegedly due to outsourcing to Hitachi

October 12, 2009 in Technology | No comments

Further details on the Sidekick data loss, via Engadget:

Alleged details on the events leading up to Danger’s doomsday scenario are starting to come out of the woodwork, and it all paints a truly embarrassing picture: 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.

T-Mobile has refunded one months’ worth of data service charges to contract Sidekick users, which I didn’t get because I didn’t have a contract with my Sidekick. They will also be sending $100 “customer appreciation cards” to certain Sidekick customers, which can be used on T-Mobile products and services (including bills) only. There is no clear-cut criteria in place for who can expect to receive a gift card.

T-Mobile: Microsoft Lost Your Data

October 10, 2009 in Life, Technology | No comments

I have been without access to my phone’s address book and other data functions since last Friday. Such outages aren’t unheard of, but have never lasted longer than a day in the past. In the meantime, I finally got a new contract with Android-powered phone and rumors circulated that service would be back soon. I waited for my contacts to become available so I could transfer them to my new phone, and then I could ditch the Sidekick and let the prepaid account fade away.

Today, T-Mobile finally admitted that all of our data is gone:

Regrettably, based on Microsoft/Danger’s latest recovery assessment of their systems, we must now inform you that personal information stored on your device – such as contacts, calendar entries, to-do lists or photos – that is no longer on your Sidekick almost certainly has been lost as a result of a server failure at Microsoft/Danger.

(The way it works is that while your information is on your phone, it’s not really stored there, it’s in the cloud. You sign-in to your account and the phone downloads your contacts. You can replace your phone without having to worry about contacts because they are stored in the cloud. However, if something happens to the cloud, you’re screwed.)

Too bad there’s probably something in fine print somewhere that prevents anyone from being sued over this.

Biting off some Apple class action cash money

October 2, 2008 in Technology | 1 comment

This morning I checked my email and discovered a little something called Gordon v. Apple Computer, Inc. wherein if you’ve bought a PowerBook/iBook and had the power adapter fail within the first three years after retail purchase: congrats, bitches, it’s time to get paid!

At first I was skeptical, and I am still not sure how they got my email address. (Apple, maybe? It doesn’t say.) I had also just sold my old PowerBook for parts on eBay this week, and shipped it out yesterday. However, I made note of the serial number! Good going, because my PowerBook was one of the affected ones and made me eligible for money.

After digging through Gmail, I figured out that I had purchased my PowerBook in July 2004 and first ordered an additional power adapter from Apple in November 2005. That means I can get… $40. Considering I paid $79 (+tax) and the cost of overnight shipping with FedEx, that’s lame, but hey whatever.

I probably won’t see the money for many months, so it’ll be exciting to forget about and then receive a check in the mail someday.

Minneapolis WiFi in review

June 26, 2008 in Technology | 1 comment

Are you worried about your online habits? Do you click on many links, or watch lots of YouTube videos? Would you like to sit back, relax, and enjoy the slow loading of a website?

The City of Minneapolis has a solution for you!

Envoy Esteem implant research vs stem cell research

May 30, 2008 in Health, Hearing Loss, Technology | 7 comments

I like convenient technology, but I am not sure how extreme I would go to be able to hear normally without my hearing aids. The Envoy Esteem implant feels like another crutch rather than a cure. Do I really want the machinery I wear behind my ears put in my skull? It just creeps me out. It’s unfortunate because I qualify perfectly for their trials with my hearing loss. However, as much as I like science, I don’t feel like offering myself up for it, especially when I think it is not solving the problem itself.

While it may be years before anything could be done for hearing losses with stem cells, I’d rather deal with an equally invasive procedure that would leave me “healed” instead of going through one that just prolongs actual advancement. Given how functional stem cells are, further research would be beneficial to everyone on the planet.

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