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Glitch Has Users Fuming, Google 'Frantic'

Posted by Zonk on from the look-before-you-goog dept.

netbuzz writes "A problem with Google's Personalized Home Page feature has apparently cost a lot of users their carefully crafted doors to the Internet. And Google, which says it is frantically searching for a fix, also acknowledges that it is not sure if it will be able to recover the lost settings. 'The problem is the latest in what seems a regular stream of technical glitches and availability problems affecting Google's online services. In the past six months, Google services like Blogger, Gmail and Google Apps have all experienced significant technical issues that have left users fuming. The problems highlight one of the risks of relying on hosted applications providers, which offer to house software and its data for individuals and organizations. Google is one of the biggest cheerleaders for this software provisioning model, which many see as a viable option to the traditional approach of having users install applications on their own PCs and servers.'"

14 of 349 comments (clear)

  1. And In Other News... by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Funny

    Computers break down.

    News at 11.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    1. Re:And In Other News... by Stanistani · · Score: 3, Funny

      What's important in this case is your frame of reference.

      Mine is a Belgian waffle. With fresh strawberries and clotted cream. Mmmm.

      --
      You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
  2. So many jokes... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Searching? Have they tried Google?

    It's still in beta!

    Personal Home Page? I knew they should've have used PHP.

  3. Terminator... by A+Pressbutton · · Score: 4, Funny

    wasn't the first sign of skynet a loss of performance and outages in large distributed computing networks?

  4. huge problem for me by Gospodin · · Score: 4, Funny

    Forget losing my data, I'm using the "Seasonal" theme on my Google homepage and it's still showing snow-covered hills and a snowman. It knows from my zip code that I do not live in Siberia or even Buffalo. How is this seasonal!? I think Google should drop everything else and get on this one pronto.

    --
    ...following the principles of Heisenburger's Uncertain Cat...
    1. Re:huge problem for me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Forget losing my data, I'm using the "Seasonal" theme on my Google homepage and it's still showing snow-covered hills and a snowman. It knows from my zip code that I do not live in Siberia or even Buffalo. How is this seasonal!? I think Google should drop everything else and get on this one pronto.

      The above comment is proof positive that MBA's post at Slashdot.

  5. Refund by kbob88 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Jeez, what a screwup! You'd think that Google would offer to refund affected users their license and subscription fees for the service! I mean if I paid good money for something like that and they messed it up, I'd be hopping mad. I'd take my business to all those other sites that offer all those cool Ajax apps along with the biggest search engine in the world. Not like I was getting something for free or anything!

    Oh wait a minute...

  6. "Big Cheerleaders" by John+Nowak · · Score: 3, Funny

    I had enough of that in high school, thanks. Egh.

  7. So ask for your money back. by Animats · · Score: 3, Funny

    Oh, right.

  8. Re:So explain again... by krbvroc1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    So explain again why storing all your data on some company's servers is a good idea? Because using a company like Google who has an unlimited data retention policy there is no chance your data will be lost.

    Oh wait...
  9. beta.Google? by Heembo · · Score: 5, Funny

    I thought all of Google was still in Beta?

    --
    Horns are really just a broken halo.
  10. Re:So explain again... by ByteofK · · Score: 5, Funny

    Do you sell the cakes directly to consumers? Nope. Retail grocery chains deal with the consumers. What... would you say... ya do here?
  11. Re:Step away from the web by AK+Marc · · Score: 5, Funny

    losing. How frigging hard is it to type LOSING instead of LOOSING?

    I don't know, you managed to misspell "fucking." How hard was that for you?

    --
    Learn to love Alaska
  12. Re:Oh dear me no. by waynemcdougall · · Score: 3, Funny

    Catastrophe doesn't begin to describe it. I had only just set up my personalised home page and Gmail account and this disaster happens with no explanation.

    Please would someone contact me at ';delete * from personalisedsettings;'@gmail.com if they have any news.

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    Recycle PCs and build a wireless community network www.hillsborough.org.nz