T-mobile And Microsoft / Danger, Data Loss And Cloud Computers

By Author: Gregg Housh
Total Articles: 18
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You probably have already heard about the colossal failure of Microsoft and Danger's cloud system, leading to the loss of roughly 800,000 T-Mobile users' cell phone information. The unique technique T-mobile employed to manage their customers information experienced a catastrophic failure on October fifth and while questions still loom as to how this will have taken place the take home lesson for all PC users is plain as day : always backup your information properly.

Sidekick information was not stored long term on the cell phone itself, unlike any other cell phone models. Instead, information was uploaded to Microsoft / Danger's cloud : a cluster of many computers sharing the load of information storage and computing power. Systems like this are not all that unusual, if you use gmail or flickr you have already got information stored in a cloud. When one PC in the cloud fails, often there is minimal to no information loss. If many computers fail, or if the software connecting the PCs has a difficulty, all the information could be lost forever.

Thankfully Microsoft had some backups of the Sidekick information ...
... and ultimately started restoring it to customer phones on October 20th, fifteen days after the 1st loss of information. In the meantime, literally thousands of blog content, news items and RSS feeds flooded the web with bad PR about T-Mobile and Microsoft. The feedback was fully justified as well, due to early concerns within Microsoft the backup information had somehow been damaged or lost in the same event that took down the cloud. The assumption a company with the kind of resources and expertise as Microsoft could have made such a rookie mistake of making backups that were depending on the same resources or software as the cloud is unthinkable to tech pros.

The cost of this catastrophe is more than just information loss and bad press, the monetary toll is still growing. Between users terminating contracts early ( without the customary fee ), $100 T-Mobile gift cards being offered to users whose information was lost, and pulling Sidekicks from shelves and internet stores, the final cost could be somewhere in the millions.

Data recovery is an advanced and expensive process, and it's not always successful. To keep your information safe, whether it's tax records or footage of your children, you should always keep a secure backup. It's a straightforward, cheap, and reliable step that can help prevent multi-million dollar calamities and private heartbreaks, but it must be done right. Geek Choice techs are trained professionals who can help ensure that your backup solution is safe, even if your system fails. If you have not already, make the effort to call about backing up your information today.
Gregg Housh is Technician Manager at Geek Choice. At Geek Choice we solve computer problems like: Slow computer, Virus Removal, Spyware Removal, Computer startup problems, Printer not printing, Not connecting to the Internet, Scanner not working, or the "blue screen of death".