RIM blames massive service outage on newer Messenger versions
By Chris Ziegler 
posted December 23rd 2009 12:27PM
posted December 23rd 2009 12:27PM
posted December 23rd 2009 12:27PM
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No need to (1) design correct software or (2) test it before placing it into Production.
Good grief.
I hope this is different software development management than the last time.
And if not, maybe it will be the NEXT time, eh?
@Freakin Ijit
Test...what is this ...te...st...you speak of?
No cell makers actually test their products on anything besides emulators. They are in such a hurry to get their crap to market, it's actually more profitable for them to release a buggy product, then fix it a few months later, then holding out on the release for testing, etc.
@surgex Yep. They just stick to well-known and tried platforms (ie how every HTC device pretty much had the Qualcomm MSM7200 series processor for quite some time) and just dick with the software side of things instead of actually taking time to fix hardware flaws.
Of course, it does make a bit of sense cost-wise - it costs lots of money to built new prototypes, source components, build PCBs, and so on for test purposes - and if that has to happen 50 or so times for one simple phone, then they might as well just stick with the well-knowns.
Just an aside - I was talking server-side software in this case (and probably in all prior bad-software outages).
The no-test/bad management comments remain, however.
@Freakin Ijit
It's a shame that mindless drones buy the products just based on the name. Yes, the product offering is good.... if it was 1999. People just link "email" with "BlackBerry" and go out and buy one without knowing the limitations (shitty IMAP, no built-in Exchange, etc)
And since the company has the market, why waste money on testing?
I had switched my bold out for a cheapy samsung mystic just to give it a try. I got back to my BB, and bbm doesn't work my emails don't come in. So, I called AT&T and they said "there is a data outage in your area" They were clueless to as far as blackberry outage. Waterloo, shall fix it all eh?
awesome photoshop again !! hehe
what is the added benefit of using BB Messenger?
@TikiTeko
it's really kinda hard to explain and i don't think it's so much bb messenger as much as just instant messaging in general, whether it be bbm or otherwise. it's pretty much compared to, on your home computer, using yahoo/msn/google messenger as opposed to emailing someone. less steps to get your message across and just faster overall.
It's IM to any other BB user in the world (whom you know the PIN for).
@TikiTeko http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/features/im/blackberry_messenger.jsp
There. It also shows if the other person is typing a message and when your messages are delivered and when they are read (with a small D or R showing next to each message), so you know if the other person is just ignoring you or too busy to reply.
Plus it's always on, as long as the other person has it installed, there's no "appearing offline" crap. Overall it feels like using IM on a computer, maybe even better cause of autotext and the fact that you can know if your message has been read. It's the best mobile IM experience. (as long as your friends have a BlackBerry)
@TikiTeko
Except when the punchline comes before the joke, it's not as funny...
Read: "Bring down network" checkbox should've been last
@TikiTeko Thanks for pointing it out. I totally missed it. :)
@TikiTeko As a new BB user I don't get the point of BBM either. I have 4 friends on BBM, everyone else is on AIM, Yahoo, MSN etc... and don't need a BB to chat with me. I doubt I will use BBM much as these 4 people are also on Yahoo and or AIM. Perhaps this was before BBs had the IM clients on it? Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't get it.
I've got a MAP for that...
Just tried installing the new version. My phone lagged and errored out, and didnt install it.
@yankees368
This morning nearly all of the comments/reviews in blackberry app world about the new version were all bad/negative experiences. People were complaining about crashes like yours and cases were the entire contact list was lost and wouldn't restore from the so called backup bbm does. I haven't checked again since then but I'm figuring on dumping bbm 5.0.0.x all together and restoring whichever release came on the phone originally because what they're pushing through blackberry app world has proven to be nothing but crap with every release/update.
Talk to a live human? Why would I want to do that?
@Loftwyr
i didn't even know there was such a thing as a "live human"... i thought we were all at least a little bit dead inside...
what happened to the latest engadget show? I'm dying here
Nope! BBM along with the other IM clients (WLM & YM) are vital for keeping in contact with family and girlfriend abroad. Outages around this season are the worst.
I don't know if it's a problem with Sprint or with BIS but I can't load any websites right now.
GOd this is fucking awful it makes me wanna go McVeigh on RIM.
loving AdThwart extension on Chrome...
Popups blocked - check
Annoying Flash ads blocked - check
Making pages load faster - check
Relieving Engadget of its money - check!
I'm all set..
Still no email
NYC-T-Mobile
ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
BB instability is what caused me to leave.
I just don't get smartphone addicts. Sure, I take my HTC Touch Pro 2 with me everywhere, and I use it alot, mostly for work related stuff on the go or at home. If I didn't have my phone/service for a few days, I probably wouldn't even notice. Well that's not entirely true, I would notice that I'm not getting harangued by clueless grad students all day, but I digress, I would not "miss" not having my device. Really people, there is more to the world then your damned phone.
@Astrobiology is my wife
i think you're forgetting you're talking about a blackberry, meaning, a business device. plenty people depend on their device to get their emails, documents, etc. when not having the privilege to be sitting behind a desk the whole day. outages like this can really hinder one's ability to be productive. that is why it is such a big deal.
@Astrobiology is my wife
HTC t2 is a horrible bulky phone that has only a decent keyboard.
If you had the awesomeness that is a BB, you'd understand.
@tehslax Well my boy, I've had a BB, but in my field, it is a pretty pointless phone. Windows Mobile is a great operating system for what I need (although Android also looks promising). Not to mention, in my work environment, I would much rather have a TP2 than some little plastic toy that I can feel breaking in my hand.
@iroq d mullet I suppose, but I coordinate quite a bit of lab work with my cell, and I still don't think it would be absolutely crucial to be connected 100% of the time. Maybe I'm just silly.
@Astrobiology is my wife
I agree that folks are overly dependent on a technology that isn't reliable and will have outages. I also think we need to step back a bit from being tied to a form of communication 24x7. However, I work in a large international law firm with deals going on around the globe. i.e. 24x7 communication. Clients demand constant availability; the situation demands 24x7 availability and our attorneys demand the ability to be in constant communication. Many people within my organization rely on their Blackberries to (a) be notified when something needs to be addressed via email and (b) receive forwarded voicemails from their office phone. So, from their, and thus my perspective....its a big deal.
@Astrobiology is my wife
maybe you are being silly thinking that just because you can afford to go a full day without your device that everyone should agree with you in saying that it's not a big deal. let's not forget that different people have different jobs, different situations and others might depend on their blackberry more than you.
@Astrobiology is my wife
My TP2 was excessively heavy and felt very cheap.
Then again your opinions doesn't matter. From personal use, touchflo+winmo is a monstrosity in its own right. Both add to the crashing of the phone.
Just not a well thought out phone
As an atty with a work BB that never stops, I truly savor the times when BB service goes down. The silence is bliss even if for just an hour or two.
Of course, when it kicks back in - all heck breaks loose again.
I've been trying all day to get the newest version to both download and install . I either get errors downloading or errors installing....Very frustated
I've had windows mobile, i've had BBerry, I've had Palm and I know have a 3GS. I don't understand why thre needs to be a 3rd party hop for BES email. ActiveSync is built into exchange, is free with exchange, and works fantastic on WinMo, Palm, Android and iPhone... Why add another link in the chain with the ability to go down by having to use BES/RIM? Am I missing something other than BBerry Messenger, which can be easily replaced with something else if need be... like SMS perhaps?
@icase81
SMS cost additional fees per month. BBM is built into your unlimited data plan. If you haven't used BBM then it's difficult to understand. I switched to the iPhone only becuase my 8800 died on me and it was cheaper at the time to upgrade to the iPhone. I miss the BBM and wish there was a 3rd party app that would allow crossplatform on BBM so I could dump the SMS plan that I had to add to my account.
@killshot230 Right, I know what BBM is and have used it. I've had BBerries for the past 2 years. Unfortunately, its not universal and while its a neat program and service, the same can be achieved platform independently with AIM/MSN/YM/GTalk etc. All I'm saying is that while it may have been 'necessary' 8 years ago, it certainly isn't necessary now what with always on data connections and what not being able to utilize existing instant messaging services.
@icase81 BES adds push for non-corporate email accounts.
Some QA lead likely got canned for this. I hope they run a sim of 10000+ users using BBM and everything else at once, probably not. Unless there is no QA over at RIM....
Took me a minute to notice the altered photo but after I did...
Laughing my butt off.
to icase81;
You're right, if you only use Exchange email. But...WinMo does a horrible job of managing other types of email accounts and does not offer IMAP idle. BlacKBerries do via the BIS service. It actually supports up to 10 of those accounts and for many of these services, message delivery is immediate. WinMo, unfortunately, does a really bad job of managing pop3 and/or imap accounts and the device must manually log into each service individually on set schedules. I know as I have had many winmo phones and still have one to this day. I'm constantly having to re-sync to get all of the messages and/or attachments.
BBM is something exclusive to BlackBerries worldwide. This is in addition to other popular IM servies (AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Yahoo!) all of which are available to be used on the blackBerry and don't log out every time they're closed 9like the Jesus phone). The BBM is definitely superior to all other IM services for the reasons stated in previous comments.
@CMC
Superiority, in this case is all subjective in what a user requires from their IM service. There are plenty of third party IM apps that link YAHOO/MSN/AIM IM services. Some show when the other party is typing, allow for instant voice messages/clips, and never mind the fact that you can log in to these same services on your PC. Oh and there's even the ability to share files directly within some of these IM apps (Windows Live Messenger does).
I'm not saying BBM is inferior, but while it offers features some mobile IM apps don't provide, it really isn't all that revolutionary. It's IM for BB, big deal......you can talk to YAHOO and MSN contacts regardless if you're on your phone, pc, bb, iPhone, Windows Mobile or Android.
@smokeyb111
BlackBerry Messenger IS superior because besides showing when the other person is typing (long before any other IM app did it), it also shows when a message is delivered and when it has been read. It shows the music you're listening to, It is perfectly synchronized with your global phone contact list and other BlackBerry Apps so that makes it easier and faster to use.AND it's always on, without consuming large amounts of data and without impacting battery life at all even though it's always on.
It's the best mobile IM program (as long as your friends and/or family use it) and the most reliable (yes, even considering these recent outages).
@Markos
So it's superior because it allows people to see if I read an IM and they can see what music I'm listening to? (I imagine that functionality can be turned off....?) That's not functionality I desire in my IM program, then again, I just got rid of the midget I was carrying around on my back to read everything on my phone from over my shoulder, so my concern over my privacy might just be a phase, who knows.
and wait, I NEED blackberry hardware to use BBM?......I don't think I needed to buy any hardware to use my MSN or Yahoo Messenger. I might be mistaken. My contacts are sync'd via my Windows Live, and I'd like to think that iPhone and Android have similar sync capabilities.
Next, you'll tell me Hamburgers are superior to Hot Dogs.
Who's making the Messenger? I'm blaming them.
they need to get rid of BIS altogether, and let BB devices use internet directly, it's a joke that non-bb specific functionatlity didn't work. i know bb browsers uses bis, but if msgr causes bis to go down, they should redo something so that things like data arent' available when bis goes down.i was surpised that google maps didn't work when bis went down. i thoguth it would only effect email + bb browser.
@harabai
Whole-heartily agree... the phone knows when BIS is down; it should be able to bypass that proxy and use TCP/IP directly.
I'm not even getting into the stupidity of BIS as a whole, but they should have some form of backup...
@harabai I agree. BIS is important because it gives push capability to non-corporate email accounts (yahoo, google, etc.), but that should be it. I HATE how the BB browser has to go through RIM's servers, unless you manually change it to wi-fi browser which actually does direct TCP/IP. The problem with changing to wi-fi browser is you lose connectivity when you leave wi-fi coverage, and you have to switch it back. SO ANNOYING!
email was down for some. i hope this shows people rim is not god, and that other platforms whose services don't depend on intermediary servers are more reliable. if everyone used fring instead of bbm...
So basically if the entire BlackBerry community is unable to use their device, the companies just say sorry and that somehow makes everything all better?