Starting from "we can improve anything to the degree that we can measure it" I think once we have figured out how to get reliability we have also learned how to measure it and therefor we can repeat and scale reliability. Good example, a 1960 Ford compared to a post Asian invasion Ford of today.
Apple is not new to reliability in either hardware or software. This ME generation Cloud deal is looking more like a management issue with each passing day. Garbage in, Garbage out. According to Apple 1% of their customers are not getting service and haven't been for several days.
The rumors are rampant about causes of Apple's ME generation roll out problem 1) initial large outage caused by cut optical cable. 2) current 1% outage caused by single server.
Lets say there is no truth in any rumor. What is known then. 1) a single problem can take down much of Apple's promised and paid for service. 2) If there was a disaster plan it does not seem to be working. 3) If there is a back up system it too does not seem to be working. 4) If there were redundancies built into the system they don't seem to be working.
What is questionable is if there was a well tested primary system in place for this new product rollout? Considering the crabbing Apple has been doing with their apology letters concerning their rollout marketing, there is considerable evidence that a tested system maybe a generous, although doubtful description of the system in place at the time of rollout.
None of my comments go to fixing Apple's ME generation product rollout, that's Apple's problem. People and companies tend to do what they have done before. We get to decide who we want to be a conduit for our treasured thoughts and information in the future. Our frustration today is largely based lack of service and lack of open communication between our trusted service provider and us the customer who have already paid for that service.
Most of us have had email service for years from other providers, maybe tens of other providers. We need to ask ourselves if Apple's service and conduct is typical? I am retired for the computer industry, worked the last 20 years as a test engineer. What is going on at Apple with this ME generation product release does not speak well for the field of testing, but you already know that.
I'm one of the *others* that wasn't affected by the outage, not sure if being in Australia has made any difference? However my connection has been fine in terms of email availability, albeit the initial rollover from .Mac to Mobile Me was pretty hairy if you were trying to access the site at the time.
One server goes down and no email? Don't they have a back up procedure of some kind? The outage was probably cause by some technician spilling his coke on the server box under his desk. Or maybe someone tripped over the cable which is taped to the floor with ducktape busting the connector. It takes time to send someone to Best Buy to get a new one, you know! I bet SJ will refer to mobileMe as a hobby next year.
Backup mail servers are not always so easy as they sound, it all depends on the situation. If a server has a sudden crash then switching to a backup server is a breeze. If it has a very gradual & unsuspected corruption it can replicate itself to the backup & effectively kill the redundancy.
These issues have only just begun to be addressed in recent years & unfortunately for Apple the best ways to combat this are still a couple years away from supporting OS X Server. Virtualization is the main way to combat this possibility because you both replicate data for on the fly takeover but you also run snapshots, but virtualization support for OS X Server has been lower priority for virtualization companies because of the dramatically small server market OS X has.
Apple does a lot of cool stuff with their technology but I think people forget that they don't do everything & still depend on outside solutions for some aspects of their services. They could opt to use some of the virtual technologies but we all know that this would result in great scoffing at Apple for using a competing companies software or hardware. What Apple really needs to do is invest hardcore in VMWare & their ESX virtual solutions, VMWare is in the lead to try & build professional OS X virtual server solutions (yes Parallels now has a server version out to support OS X but that is not even close to the level of ESX).
The 1% could actually make a lot of sense if everyone around you is having the same issue. It very well could be a regional thing, I doubt very much Apple has 2 or 3 mail servers that handle all of their e-mail stores. I'm not having any issues in my area & no one around me using mobileme seems to be either. The logical way to split up mail servers would be regional so I suspect this is why everyone in a certain location might be having the issue & yet as a whole they may account for only that 1%.
Apple makes mistakes but I've rarely seen them misreport figures (at least not intentionally). Instead they often remain silent far too long.
Many people are concerned about Steve Jobs leaving but I may be one of the few that believes his time has come. He is a visionary & has lead the way for some incredible inspirations, but as Apple grows they need someone who is more than idealist. They have now shifted to the need for someone who will better understand how to handle some of these transitions & growing pains that have pounded them as of late. Sorry, but that is not Steve. He has created the environment for dreamers & I don't see any reason that won't continue on in full force if he departs. Time for the man to retire to a position where he can still feel vested & active, but can also get some rest from time to time.
Comments
Apple is not new to reliability in either hardware or software. This ME generation Cloud deal is looking more like a management issue with each passing day. Garbage in, Garbage out. According to Apple 1% of their customers are not getting service and haven't been for several days.
The rumors are rampant about causes of Apple's ME generation roll out problem 1) initial large outage caused by cut optical cable. 2) current 1% outage caused by single server.
Lets say there is no truth in any rumor. What is known then. 1) a single problem can take down much of Apple's promised and paid for service. 2) If there was a disaster plan it does not seem to be working. 3) If there is a back up system it too does not seem to be working. 4) If there were redundancies built into the system they don't seem to be working.
What is questionable is if there was a well tested primary system in place for this new product rollout? Considering the crabbing Apple has been doing with their apology letters concerning their rollout marketing, there is considerable evidence that a tested system maybe a generous, although doubtful description of the system in place at the time of rollout.
None of my comments go to fixing Apple's ME generation product rollout, that's Apple's problem. People and companies tend to do what they have done before. We get to decide who we want to be a conduit for our treasured thoughts and information in the future. Our frustration today is largely based lack of service and lack of open communication between our trusted service provider and us the customer who have already paid for that service.
Most of us have had email service for years from other providers, maybe tens of other providers. We need to ask ourselves if Apple's service and conduct is typical? I am retired for the computer industry, worked the last 20 years as a test engineer. What is going on at Apple with this ME generation product release does not speak well for the field of testing, but you already know that.
Jim
One server goes down and no email? Don't they have a back up procedure of some kind? The outage was probably cause by some technician spilling his coke on the server box under his desk. Or maybe someone tripped over the cable which is taped to the floor with ducktape busting the connector. It takes time to send someone to Best Buy to get a new one, you know! I bet SJ will refer to mobileMe as a hobby next year.
Backup mail servers are not always so easy as they sound, it all depends on the situation. If a server has a sudden crash then switching to a backup server is a breeze. If it has a very gradual & unsuspected corruption it can replicate itself to the backup & effectively kill the redundancy.
These issues have only just begun to be addressed in recent years & unfortunately for Apple the best ways to combat this are still a couple years away from supporting OS X Server. Virtualization is the main way to combat this possibility because you both replicate data for on the fly takeover but you also run snapshots, but virtualization support for OS X Server has been lower priority for virtualization companies because of the dramatically small server market OS X has.
Apple does a lot of cool stuff with their technology but I think people forget that they don't do everything & still depend on outside solutions for some aspects of their services. They could opt to use some of the virtual technologies but we all know that this would result in great scoffing at Apple for using a competing companies software or hardware. What Apple really needs to do is invest hardcore in VMWare & their ESX virtual solutions, VMWare is in the lead to try & build professional OS X virtual server solutions (yes Parallels now has a server version out to support OS X but that is not even close to the level of ESX).
The 1% could actually make a lot of sense if everyone around you is having the same issue. It very well could be a regional thing, I doubt very much Apple has 2 or 3 mail servers that handle all of their e-mail stores. I'm not having any issues in my area & no one around me using mobileme seems to be either. The logical way to split up mail servers would be regional so I suspect this is why everyone in a certain location might be having the issue & yet as a whole they may account for only that 1%.
Apple makes mistakes but I've rarely seen them misreport figures (at least not intentionally). Instead they often remain silent far too long.
Many people are concerned about Steve Jobs leaving but I may be one of the few that believes his time has come. He is a visionary & has lead the way for some incredible inspirations, but as Apple grows they need someone who is more than idealist. They have now shifted to the need for someone who will better understand how to handle some of these transitions & growing pains that have pounded them as of late. Sorry, but that is not Steve. He has created the environment for dreamers & I don't see any reason that won't continue on in full force if he departs. Time for the man to retire to a position where he can still feel vested & active, but can also get some rest from time to time.