network outage
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Sprint network outage leads to flight delays with Alaska Airlines
A network outage that leaves folks without data for a few hours is one thing, but some Sprint problems today are causing some bigger issues than usual in one part of the US. Alaska Airlines is reporting flight delays at several airports, including Portland International Airport, as a result of the outage that is says began at 7:30AM Pacific time when a fiber cable was cut in Wisconsin. The AP is further reporting that Alaska Airlines President and CEO Brad Tilden says the airline expects to have a full resolution by 5PM local time, and that it may have a partial solution by noon. The reports that we've received from Sprint users also suggest that the outage is largely confined to the Northwest. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: We've gotten an official statement from a Sprint spokesperson on the matter, confirming that two separate fiber cuts have disrupted service in parts of Oregon, Washington and Northern California. The complete statement is as follows: Some Sprint customers in parts of Oregon, Washington and Northern California are experiencing a disruption in data and voice services. This is the result of two separate fiber cuts on Sprint's network in the northwestern and midwestern U.S. Sprint network technicians are working to repair these cuts and re-route network traffic so service can be restored as soon as possible. Update 2: Alaska Airlines says its flights are now running close to normal. Travelers, rejoice!
O2 apologizes for 'unprecedented' outage with 10 percent refunds
O2 is sorry for last week's service issues. Really, really sorry. Like, giving you back 10-percent of your bill sorry, if you happened to be among the affected. The UK operator noted in a blog post today that it has identified all those users who were impacted by the "unprecedented" downtime and will be offering up 10-percent off of their July subscriptions, to be applied to their bills in September, the monetary equivalent of three lost days. Pay & Go members, meanwhile, will also be getting something back in September: a 10 percent bonus on their first top-up that month. The company's also offering up customers a £10 O2 in-store voucher, available during the month of September. More info and apologies in the source link below.
Apple Store outage related to larger 'net issues?
As tweeted by TUAW earlier this morning, the online Apple Store was down for hours and finally came back up a few minutes ago. Although we'd love to be able to announce a new Mac Pro, the iPhone 5, and an iPad 3, it appears that nothing has changed in the store, and the outage might have been due to a larger problem with the Interwebs. Apple was not the only company getting hit with large issues today. VoIP carrier Ooma is reporting a nationwide outage although some California customers are reporting that things are beginning to get back to normal. John Gruber's Daring Fireball blog was down part of the morning, and readers and bloggers have been reporting that Twitter was visited by the Fail Whale, Facebook was temporarily faceless, and various ISPs are having issues. We haven't heard what exactly is causing these issues and if they're related, but it seems odd that so many services would be experiencing issues at the same time. Keep an eye on TUAW and we'll update this post when we find out if what or who is causing the problems.
Alter-Ego: Only doom in the hall
Just after my column went live last week, we saw the Sony Online Entertainment servers start to come back online. Those of us who consider DC Universe Online our MMO home were able to once again get our hero or villain on and meet up with friends we'd been relegated to catching up with on Facebook. (Don't get me wrong, Facebook is fine for what it is, but it can't compare with getting to bash virtual superhero or supervillain heads in alongside your league-mates!) As I mentioned last week, the restoration also came with a nice variety of goodies. With the added outage time tacked onto the 30 days, everyone was awarded 45 days of free play time, which isn't too shabby. I'd also note that the 45 days free applies to all Sony Online Entertainment game accounts you might have -- whether or not they were active at the time of the outage. This offers DC Universe Online players who may have opted to cancel after the first month the perfect chance to log in and check out the content updates that have gone live since launch, without having to spend a dime. The real question is this: What type of future might we see for DCUO in the aftermath of the outages, especially with so many players screaming that they were leaving? Join me behind the break as I look at our first week back on the mean streets.
Sony's 'Welcome Back' campaign apologizes to distraught PSN users with free games, good vibes
Remember the recent PlayStation Network outage? You know the one, right? It started in late-April and lasted up through this weekend's phased restoration (and continues on for many un-phased users). Well, Sony would like to sincerely apologize for the whole thing the best way it knows how: free video games. The company today announced its "Welcome Back" program, which is letting all existing PSN and Qriocity users in North America pick two of the following games: Dead Nation, inFAMOUS, LittleBigPlanet, Super Stardust HD, and Wipeout HD + Fury. PSP users, meanwhile, can chose two from LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers, Pursuit Force, and Kill Liberation. You can claim the games at some point in the next 30 days, and once you've downloaded, they're yours to keep. The gesture may well prove too little, too late for many disgruntled users -- but even they'll likely have trouble staying angry at Sackboy's adorable little dirt-stained mug.
Expert says Sony knew of PSN security weakness
The PlayStation Network outage plot thickens. In today's hearing by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Sony executive vice president Kaz Hirai refused to testify. One who did testify, however, was US Public Policy Council of the Association for Computing Machinery head Gene Spafford, and did he ever have some words for Sony. During his testimony, Spafford claimed that Sony was well aware of the security holes in the PlayStation Network, asserting that PSN was using old software that was "unpatched and had no firewall installed." He also noted that these security issues were brought to the table in a Sony-moderated forum, but no action was taken as a result. If these claims are true, Sony is in for an even bigger world of hurt, and this situation could escalate into something not even a complimentary Batman mask can rectify. In related news, TG Daily reports that New York's Attorney General has subpoenaed Sony over the data breach and what "representations" were made to its customers in regard to the security of their information.
DC Universe Online players getting a new mask as a consolation prize
It hasn't been an easy ride for Sony Online Entertainment customers this week, as it looks like the PSN hack has affected them as well. The company is already working on a plan to make up the outage to players, especially the DC Universe Online customers who have been doubly hit. And as we all know, the road to mending fences starts with a nice hat, which has just recently been revealed on the former game's Facebook page. According to the official statement, all DC Universe Online players impacted by the outage will receive a free month of game time plus one day per day that the service was unavailable. Players will also be receiving a new Batman-inspired mask as shown above. Precise details will be made available to players in the coming days as network service begins restoration, and while the hat won't cure all woes, it will at least help ease the sting.
Verizon's LTE network takes the night off, leaves a bunch of Thunderbolt users bewildered
Is your fancy new phone lacking that certain extra G that makes it special? Worry not, it's not just your device, Verizon's entire LTE network seems to be having problems as outages have been reported from across the US. We tested our own Thunderbolt in San Francisco this morning and it was indeed making do with only 3G connectivity. It's important to note that Verizon's 3G network seems to be ticking along quite alright, it's just 4G service that's down at the moment. Some folks have reported losing both 3G and 4G connectivity, but that's owing to a documented issue with 3G provisioning on the Thunderbolt -- we've noted the way to overcome that problem in a previous post. For now, just enjoy your regular-speed mobile internet until the super-fast stuff is fixed and back up. Update: The Verizon Wireless Twitter account has confirmed the issue, and that the company's network engineers are "working to resolve quickly." Update 2: As of 4:13pm ET Verizon has determined the cause and is "working with major vendors to restore connections." Still no ETA for a fix. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Counter-Strike shooting slowed by actual shooting
At around 7 p.m. on Monday, ISPs around the country experienced a period of slowdown, which seemed inexplicable until workers discovered that fiber optic lines in Cleveland, Ohio -- reportedly owned by Level 3 Communications -- had been the target of sabotage... by gunfire. Anders Olausson, a TeliaSonera AB spokesman, said that the company had lost the northern leg of its network, and when technicians pulled up the lines to inspect, it was apparent that, "Somebody had been shooting with a gun or a shotgun into the cable." The damage was spread out over nearly two-thirds of a mile along the lines, and the effect was felt across multiple networks. Cogent Communications warned customers that they would be experiencing outages, and blamed the disruptions on "cut lines," and Keynote's Internet Pulse Report showed that the provider was experiencing significant latency. As of now, the saboteurs remain anonymous and their motives unknown, but undoubtedly scores of WoW players wait in fear of their next attack.
