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Extended Gmail Outage Frustrates Admins

Posted by timothy on from the pulling-out-doesn't-sound-manly dept.

CWmike writes "A prolonged, ongoing Gmail outage has some Google Apps administrators pulling their hair out as their end users, including high-ranking executives, complain loudly while they wait for service to be restored. At about 5 p.m. US Eastern on Wednesday, Google announced that the company was aware of the problem preventing Gmail users from logging into their accounts and that it expected to fix it by 9 p.m. on Thursday. Google offered no explanation of the problem or why it would take it so long to solve the problem, a '502' error when trying to access Gmail. Google said the bug is affecting 'a small number of users,' but that is little comfort for Google Apps administrators. Admin Bill W. posted a desperate message on the forum Thursday morning, saying his company's CEO is steaming about being locked out of his e-mail account since around 4 p.m. on Wednesday. It's not the first Gmail outage. So, will this one prompt calls for a service-level agreement for paying customers? And a more immediate question: Why no Gears for offline Gmail access at very least, Google?"

10 of 430 comments (clear)

  1. Stallman is laughing by Rinisari · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is that the sound of cloud computing advocates crying, or the sound of Richard Stallman laughing?

    --
    Colin Dean Go a year without DRM
  2. Re:The benefits of cloud computing by Thelasko · · Score: 5, Funny

    Remember folks, it's still in beta!

    --
    One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
  3. Beta means never having to say you're sorry. by Orgasmatron · · Score: 3, Funny

    Who puts important mailboxes on a beta service? Sheesh.

    --
    See that "Preview" button?
  4. Re:The benefits of cloud computing by twistedsymphony · · Score: 5, Funny

    Something tells me that an email system that only depends on your hard drive with no net connection wouldn't be very useful.

    FWIW I don't seem to be having any problems getting gmail through my gmail-lite install.

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    Collector's Edition
  5. Re:The benefits of cloud computing by A+non-mouse+Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    You are statically safer flying an airplane then driving

    That's true, I always get shocked while riding in cars. Can't remember a time in a plane, though. Must be that the plane is off the "ground".

    --
    libertarian: (n) socially liberal, financially conservative; neither left, nor right.
  6. Re:The benefits of cloud computing by elrous0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    My status as a Google shareholder is in beta too.

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  7. Re:The benefits of cloud computing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    What's a chlorine drive?

  8. Banner ads to the contrary by HalInc · · Score: 5, Funny

    In poignant irony, the banner ad I see above the story is a google ad that reads:

    "So why not switch to Google Apps?
    We maintain our hosted software 24/7 so you can sleep at night."

  9. Re: Sunny! by TaoPhoenix · · Score: 3, Funny

    Icarus, is that you falling?

    --
    My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
  10. Re:the "small IT shops are worse than SaaS" BS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    The building I (and the server) are in in could burn to the ground, and I could have us back up in less time than this stupid outage at Google

    How? You'd be dead, or probably in a burn unit, or something...