text:
On Saturday organ transplant recipient Don Stuckey made a stop in Shelbyville as part of his commitment to walk 90 miles from Effingham to Springfield highlighting transplant/organ donor awareness.
Stuckey, a resident of Beecher City can speak from experience. He became concerned with excessive loss of sleep and feeling restless and jittery. A visit to the doctor for some sleeping pills led to additional tests which showed him to be near complete renal failure. Before Don had time to take it all in, he was hooked up to a dialysis machine three times a week, three-and-a-half hours each visit. After a year he was placed on the transplant waiting list.
Like most people on an organ waiting list, Stuckey figured he was in for the long haul. Finding an organ match can take several years. But while Stuckey was in for one of his dialysis visits, he received a call that a match had possibly been found. A call an hour later confirmed that the match was positive and Stuckey was unhooked from the dialysis machine and on his way to surgery. "I was very lucky," he said. "Most people are on the waiting list for 3-5 years. I got mine after two years."
Stuckey got the call on Friday, August 2, went in for tests, and was soon under the knife for six hours. The procedure lasted through the night and was over early Saturday morning. After a brief recovery period, Stuckey showed remarkable progress, able to leave the hospital by Wednesday afternoon and earning the unofficial title, "Rock Star of Transplant Patients" by nurses and staff.
But even before Don received his kidney, he had planned to participate in the Memorial Transplant Services 5K Run/Walk in Springfield. Last year's event earned $9,000 toward the Transplant Patient Assistance Fund. In May, Stuckey decided to walk 90 miles from Effingham to Springfield to highlight organ donor awareness and raise additional funds. He also set up a website, www.walk90.org with progress updates and additional information. "They raised $9,000 last year and I was hoping to raise another $5,000 to go with it this year," Stuckey said. "I would love to present a big check to the families to help with expenses."


text:
The Film New Europe Association is main networking platform of professionals in the Central and Eastern Europe and Baltic region. The FNE Association board is made up of the heads of the most important film institutions in the region. The webportal Film New Europe with its FNE Daily newswire was chosen as the main tool to achieve the network's objectives: FNE is the sharing of know how, visibility of regional cultural diversity and finally the voice of the region. FNE is also a pan-European connection for the region and has partnerships and activities with the main pan-European film institutions based in Western Europe.
FNE IDF Doc Bloc: Tatjana in Motherland
Miha Celar creates a partially animated Slovenian documentary.
Click HERE to read full article on DOKweb
CME Back on Track under New Management
PRAGUE: Central European Media Enterprises (CME) posted increases in net revenues for the Q2 2014, up almost 17% at for the three month period at 204.9 m USD and 16% to 356.1 m USD for the six months ending 30 June 2014 and, compared with 2013.
Romanian Domestic Film Attendance on the Decline
BUCHAREST: Domestic attendance for the Romanian films was down in the first seven months of 2014 compared to 2013, with the youth comedy #Selfie contributing with more than a half to the local box office.
Petr Zelenka Starts Shooting Lost in Munich
PRAGUE: Petr Zelenka kicked off the shooting of his long-prepared absurd comedy Lost in Munich.
PRODUCTION: Mellow Mud Wraps Summer Shooting
RIGA: Latvian director's Renārs Vimba debut feature Mellow Mud has finished its summer production shoot, producers Alise Ģelze and Aija Bērziņa said.
Game of Thrones Season 5 to Shoot in Croatia
ZAGREB: The fifth season of the HBO series Game of Thrones will be shot in new locations in Dalmatia, including Šibenik and Imotski this fall.
Bulgarian National Film Center to Fund Low Budget Films
SOFIA: For the first time since its establishment in 1991 the Bulgarian National Film Center will support low budget feature films, with up to 200,000 EUR per project. The application deadline is 18 August 2014 and the results will be announced on 29 September 29.
PRODUCTION: Bodo Kox Developing Children's Film
WARSAW: Polish filmmaker Bodo Kox will make his first foray into youth oriented cinema with Three Cousins, an adaptation of the bestselling children's novel Felix, Net, Nika And The Three Couisns.
MECEFF Announces Line-up
BUCHAREST: The 4th edition of Mediaş Central European Film Festival (2-6 September), the only festival in Romania focusing on Central European cinema, announced the seven films competing for the festival's trophy.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Pearl River's Homecoming Dance was pushed back a week ago, but the time to take to the dance floor will finally arrive 7 p.m. Saturday in the high school gym.
That also means lots of pictures before, during and after the event. Share them on Patch by adding them directly to this report.


text:
* Update: Been getting lots of tips, and we've received the same message ourselves, from the BlackBerry Network Administrator pushing you to upgrade to the latest version of BlackBerry Messenger. We'll be paste the email in down below. Better upgrade! *
WOW. BlackBerry Messenger brought down BBM. Who would have thought. Our CrackBerry readers were first to pick up on the issue and we were quick to report that BBM was on the fritz... from there it escalated into one crappy evening with all BlackBerry data services going down. But we're glad to be back in action.
RIM Statement - December 23rd
A service interruption occurred Tuesday that affected BlackBerry customers in the Americas. Message delivery was delayed or intermittent during the service interruption. Phone service and SMS services on BlackBerry smartphones were unaffected. Root cause is currently under review, but based on preliminary analysis, it currently appears that the issue stemmed from a flaw in two recently released versions of BlackBerry Messenger (versions 188.8.131.52 and 188.8.131.52) that caused an unanticipated database issue within the BlackBerry infrastructure. RIM has taken corrective action to restore service.
RIM has also provided a new version of BlackBerry Messenger (version 18.104.22.168) and is encouraging anyone who downloaded or upgraded BlackBerry Messenger since December 14th to upgrade to this latest version which resolves the issue. RIM continues to monitor its systems to maintain normal service levels and apologizes for any inconvenience to customers.
BE SURE TO UPGRADE to the latest version of BlackBerry Messenger. You can grab it by visiting blackberry.com/messenger from your BlackBerry's web browser or from BlackBerry App World.
------Original Message------
From: BlackBerry Network Administrator
Subject: BlackBerry Messenger Software v220.127.116.11 Update Available
Sent: Dec 23, 2009 12:23 PM
A new version of BlackBerry® Messenger software is now available. If you are currently running version 184.108.40.206 or 184.108.40.206 of BlackBerry Messenger, please upgrade to version 188.8.131.52 as soon as possible. This version addresses issues with versions 188.8.131.52 and 220.127.116.11.
To download the most current version of BlackBerry Messenger software, please visit www.blackberry.com/blackberrymessenger and follow the on-screen instructions. Please note that the software update is available free of charge, however downloading and using applications over the wireless network may incur data usage charges depending on your service plan. Please check with your airtime service provider for information about service costs. If you have any questions about this update, please visit www.blackberry.com/support/messenger.
Thank you,
Research In Motion Limited
©2009 Research In Motion Limited. All rights reserved. BlackBerry®, RIM®, Research In Motion®, SureType®, SurePress and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of Research In Motion Limited and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world.
brattface Dec 23, 2009 at 8:41 am
That's just wrong, I dont even use Blackberry Messenger.
gemni73 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:12 am
well that sucks..i don't even use BBM like most do because I have friends who own other cellular devices. Well I am glad that things are back up and running for all of us! Its amazing how dependent we've become on our smart phones(BBs)..remember the days of just being able to make phone calls? LOL Now we can do everything from one little device and if some of those functions(messenger, email, chat, internet) are taking away, we no longer know how to act. My how times have changed! We are held hostage by technology.
Databust Dec 23, 2009 at 10:21 am
I second that my friend! I don't use it(BBM)either, yet still get the outages from the internet a lot this year! With all the $$ Verizon charges, you would think between them and RIM there would be some sort of rebate check or something - throw us a bone - when the only thing consistant is loss of service frequently.
LuvDaHennessy Dec 26, 2009 at 1:55 pm
verizon will never throw u a bone. instead they will increase your early termination fee (320 bucks i think) so that even if your unhappy u cant leave ..fuck those priks
BBM causes a system wide crash?!?! Glad RIM isn't responsible for y'know, security or Wall Street or something..
keithsuth Dec 23, 2009 at 9:07 am
1. What did security have to do with this? It was a glitch in the new BBM they put out. Don't take yourself so serious.
2. RIM is a Canada based company, I would hope that they wouldn't be in charge of security for something in NY. It'd just be weird...
CreativTech Dec 23, 2009 at 11:23 am
You are aware that large portions of the military and Federal government rely on BlackBerries daily, right?
mjgallaway Dec 23, 2009 at 4:15 pm
....its gunna happen.
Floont Dec 23, 2009 at 4:37 pm
And everyone trusts Cyberdyne with our communication and security. No worries.
dwaynewilliams#WN Dec 23, 2009 at 8:43 am
These things will happen. There are so many people using BlackBerry services, that shut downs are inevitable.
anthonyc Dec 23, 2009 at 8:46 am
this new version of BBM better be awesome! lol
ceepee Dec 23, 2009 at 8:46 am
The RIM BBM dept needs to get the boot. They stay f*Cking shit up!
BD_Nupe Dec 23, 2009 at 4:30 pm
So....you put the * in 'f*cking' so you wont curse..then said shit right afterwards lol
tony bag o donuts Dec 23, 2009 at 8:46 am
the holidays and everyone buying new devices for their spouse, family, etc.
all is good now :)
mattyg151 Dec 23, 2009 at 8:48 am
so was it really the old versions causing the issue or did pushing the new version break stuff ... HMMMMMMMM
webmastir Dec 23, 2009 at 8:48 am
This is completely unacceptable. They just lost a BB user for life come middle of next year. I cannot wait!
dgbrock Dec 23, 2009 at 8:52 am
So you're gonna...what?...switch to iPhone? have fun with AT&T. Hope you don't need reliable phone service.
With 10+M new BBs flooding the market in a short period of time, at the busiest time of the year, @#&! happens.
Merry Xmas.
big_time2 Dec 23, 2009 at 8:56 am
You would have switched anyway, now you just have this outage to "blame" so you can get away without paying ETF.
dreedy1 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:04 am
You probably already had it in your head that you wanted to switch phones/carriers anyway so don't use the outage as a scapegoat. Flaws are gonna happen...outages are gonna happen. Unforunately, it had to be an extended one. I know...it sucks balls. But if you wanna use this outage as an excuse then you're just lying to yourself and feeding BS to all of us. You already had it in your head to probably switch to a Droid, iPhone or whatever so what's the use of saying that?
FrankDLR1972 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:13 am
RIM needs to fix these problems with outages once and for all. This should not happen at all, let alone a few times a yr!!!
phreddyl Dec 23, 2009 at 9:20 am
It must be nice to be perfect and never make mistakes... I hate the outages too but blackberry is still the most reliable out there and I think we all need to get a grip and realize that shit happens...
FrankDLR1972 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:45 am
If you're running any type of network, then you've got to be a little better at redundency. The end users shouldn't have to deal with these issues as often as RIM allows it to happen. RIM should be thoroughly testing their environment to prevent any foreseeable problems. And don't start with this was unforeseeable...pls ;)
Valjean1962 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:14 am
Just remember to hold your utility/cable/internet/sanitation/sewage (choose applicable entity and enter here) provider(s) to the same incredibly high standard when they encounter their next unscheduled service interruption... Why don't we un-knot our collective panties and get on with our lives? The stink of feigned righteous indignation is getting a bit thick in here... Does anyone mind if I open a window?
webmastir Dec 23, 2009 at 9:36 am
I will be going to an Android device. I won't go to iPhone as long as they are strictly AT&T. Have fun bricking your phone everytime you install an app/theme etc. Oh ya, also have fun paying an insane amount of money for apps. Android > BB. It's a given
Alexontherun451 Dec 23, 2009 at 10:10 am
Haha I like that you are going to Android, because of an outage. How many times has GMail gone haywire?
These things happen on every platform, get over it, I'm sure you will receive all of your precious spam and p0rn in a timely manner from now on.
mciriello Dec 23, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Android is an unproven fad. Do you see nearly every major corporation and goverment agency using Androd phones. I think not. Enjoy your toy.
Jessiboo719 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:36 pm
But its a TOY. Trust me, I am a die hard blackberry user an can see the pros of the Android. But there are a ton of cons, the ONLY thing it has going for it is the apps. The only reason the apps are so cheap is because its completely open source. But as far as the phone itself goes, you don't have many options with the phone book or how you get your email. Once you have a gmail account set up on it the only way to get rid of that account if you get a new one is to do a hard reset on the phone. Its a great phone with a smooth operating system, but its got nothing on the Blackberry.
hahaha have fun with your android man. my girlfriend really loves her's...lol!
sheesh Dec 23, 2009 at 10:55 am
hey, remember when the new iphone came out and they couldn't activate any of them because the system went down from too many activations?
ya.. it's a good thing RIM isn't in charge of the worlds security.. everyone should switch until they fix this thing one and for all... *rolling eyes*
katiepea Dec 23, 2009 at 8:48 am
This is probably gonna be it for be and blackberry, it's inexcusable at this point, no data for a day, now RIM wants me to upgrade BBM but it won't restore contacts on either of my phones.
sk8er_tor Dec 23, 2009 at 9:13 am
All my contacts were restored when I upgraded from .55 to .56 and now to .57 on three seperate devices: 8900, 9000, and 9700. Maybe you should back up your BBM contacts. RIM has given you several ways to back-up. They do it for you remotely or you can do it through Desktop Manager. You can also save a PIN in the address book so there's even a third option. So don't blame RIM because you don't want to back-up.
Some people really need to learn to use their phone before complaining.
katiepea Dec 23, 2009 at 9:30 am
This is the 12th outage this year, I DO backup my phone and probably know more about it than youn my point was that remote backup isn't working on a version they recommended to install, and I'm on vacation, you're retarded. Everything you said was ill composed and incorrect
sk8er_tor Dec 23, 2009 at 10:29 am
Thank you for your wise answer, but you're not the only one here with BB knowledge. If you do backup and you have your contacts' pins stored in your address book, then stop crying. Besides, you are complaining and you haven't even attempted the upgrade. I didn't even have to restore my contacts after I upgraded. So calling me a retard instead of listening to what a fellow Crackberry user said... really, it makes you sound like the retard. And very mature might I add.
And you tell me that everything I said was ill composed and incorrect... so you are telling me that I am dreaming that I upgraded my BBM and I did not lose my contacts? I must also be dreaming that my BBM messages are going through as well.
You are on vacation yet you are very uptight. Maybe you should stop worrying about your BB so much and try to enjoy your vacation.
surfbumhuey Dec 23, 2009 at 1:35 pm
my contacts were restored right away after i updated..
webmastir Dec 23, 2009 at 9:37 am
haha. i couldn't have said it better katiepea
fracturedpsyche Dec 23, 2009 at 8:49 am
How many times a year does this happen? 2 or 3. It could be worse:
u could be running a windows OS lol!
mattyg151 Dec 23, 2009 at 8:58 am
this has been true in the past, BUT this is also twice in less than 10 days
FrankDLR1972 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:17 am
Don't become complacent, RIM needs to fix these problems with outages once and for all. This should not happen at all, let alone a few times a yr!!!
Valjean1962 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:27 am
Frank, put down the torch and pitchfork. Look behind you and you'll see that the villagers have deserted you, they're not storming the castle walls at your back. If we were only so impassioned about other things...
tedacura1 Dec 23, 2009 at 2:12 pm
There are outages in everything... lights..MTA....all types of services..even your cars break down sooner or later so tell me when your find the perfect world....bet you are all using your BB now.....Happy Holidays.
CeluGeek Dec 23, 2009 at 10:11 am
It's funny you mention that "It could be worse:
u could be running a windows OS" because while my Curve 8900 was reduced to a glorified dumbphone yesterday, my Windows computer kept working just fine... and with all data functionality.
In fact, I had to take my SIM card out of the 8900 and into an iPAQ 910c (yeah, Windows Mobile baby) to get usable mobile data. I know bashing Microsoft is trendy and people think doing so will make them cooler, but when a Windows Mobile phone can give you more reliable data service than a BlackBerry, something is definitely wrong with RIM. Heck, BlackBerry had data problems even via Wi-Fi, thanks to the dependency on RIM's stupid proxy servers.
Also, it'll be extremely irresponsible from RIM if something as trivial as BBM took their network down. As a user who doesn't use BBM at all (it's the first thing I uninstall), I find totally unacceptable to have my service affected by such a useless piece of software.
trjnberry Dec 23, 2009 at 8:51 am
I discovered in one of the comments to the blog announcement yesterday that using the Bolt Browser can get you access to the internet even thouugh there is a system wide BIS outage. I think had the majority of complainers knew that, they wouldn't have been so quick to criticize RIM and threaten leaving the platform. Perhaps in the future when these events happen, the Crackberry Blog can remind users of alternatives they can use to get around the problem, or least minimize the inconvenience.
longhairbilly Dec 23, 2009 at 9:02 am
I tried Bolt several times yesterday and it did NOT work for me.
keithsuth Dec 23, 2009 at 9:08 am
however, i have a friend who had Opera Mini working. I get your point though.
dreedy1 Dec 23, 2009 at 8:51 am
That all this new releases of BBM of 5.0 and greater are useless unless you have a 5.0 OS on your phone????
yavoh Dec 23, 2009 at 10:46 am
Nope. They'll work with OS < 5
corydunbar#CB Dec 23, 2009 at 8:53 am
any smartphone will encounter problems eventually. unfortunately BB had to encounter it so close to Christmas. well at least its done and out of the way.
fracturedpsyche Dec 23, 2009 at 9:00 am
App world is froze up with everyone trying to DL bbm!
keithsuth Dec 23, 2009 at 9:04 am
so just point your browser to the site... :)
Kirblar Dec 23, 2009 at 9:02 am
This outage was epic. Its the headline on mobile CNN haha. Hope Kevin sees it :)
Kirblar Dec 23, 2009 at 9:05 am
This is mobile CNN headline. Good fight rim, global faliure is now recognized by CNN.
Neosurfur Dec 23, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Obama's dog playing in the snow made it's way to CNN headlines yesterday...what's your point?
netposer#CB Dec 23, 2009 at 9:05 am
HEY RIM WTF is wrong with you? If I have BBM installed not via APP WORLD you should still know this.
It really sucks to install an app via OTA rather than App World and my BB is clueless that it's installed. So by installing BBM not thru App World, App World won't notify me of the new version.
And what happened to sending me a message about an update? For the first month or so after App World was launched RIM did this....now they don't.
keithsuth Dec 23, 2009 at 9:10 am
there is reason to be frustrated, but cursing up a storm over your phone not showing you an update only makes you look foolish. anyhow, i know that many people (myself included) got a update screen when i opened up bbm yesterday evening. you not getting one probably had to do with the fact that only certain users were getting data service at the time.
BBBandit Dec 23, 2009 at 9:05 am
Now lets get the pic thing right RIM. Please!!!!!!!!
ridley35 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:06 am
Anyone else having remote contact update issues? Mine has been stuck on checking email status for awhile...
labeld not0ri0us Dec 23, 2009 at 9:56 am
Yea mine's stuck on the same screen... I hope this gets fixed fast
stallions35 Dec 23, 2009 at 10:55 am
I just went old scholl and re-invited my contacts....lol. so far so good...but can't understand why an "upgrade" would cause me to resort to re-inviting everyone and not be able to restore from back up.
labeld not0ri0us Dec 23, 2009 at 11:36 am
I have over 40 contacts on bbm so it'd be pretty hard to re-add everyone old school... but if it doesn't work at all by the end of the day I may have to resort to doing that :(
stallions35 Dec 23, 2009 at 11:57 am
Might be coming around. I am 0n step 1 of 4 of recovering contacts...lol.
Registering - complete
Requesting user profile - pending
Request contact list -
Notifying contacts -
Better than a kick in the balls I guess...will update when complete.
labeld not0ri0us Dec 23, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Sounds good... I will wait a little longer and I will wait for your update. Btw, where are you located? just so I know if you're anywhere near where I am so I can figure out how much time it will take
stallions35 Dec 23, 2009 at 12:36 pm
My contacts just started showing up....so I am gonna reboot and hopefully it will be as good as we once had it.
labeld not0ri0us Dec 23, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I actually got every single one of my contacts back... I found my bbm backup file on my memory card thank god! Once everyone gets their contacts back you should all backup your bbm contacts... Very happy that I got everything back!! I hope you all get everything back soon!
loopnyc Dec 23, 2009 at 11:27 am
I've only been trying all morning to restore these contacts. It is terrible. If I'd known this I wouldn't have upgraded.
stallions35 Dec 23, 2009 at 12:33 pm
But my contacts are coming online....just about to reboot...*crossing fingers*....
Davec1234 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:07 am
Pfffft! Sprint opens in 53 minutes. I'm either out today or in June, either way I'm gone.
Shadowlore Dec 23, 2009 at 9:14 am
Ok.. I admit, I'm a crackberry (site and device) addict... but WOW.
Some of you people need to take time away from your devices to experience life minus the device. Getting violent and overly expletive because of an outage, is uncalled for.
dreedy1 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:22 am
TheGrimm Dec 23, 2009 at 9:16 am
Outages have to be expected... consider ourselves lucky that something like this doesn't occur more often. Having said that, a Blackberry Messenger update(s) caused the outage? I assume they have a QA department... I also assume they have a live test environment that mimic's production, no? WTF! I smell bullshit...
TheGrimm Dec 23, 2009 at 9:16 am
Nuff said.
BBM began to fail intermittently, for me, on Saturday. Yesterday it was completely down (as was everyone else) but BBM was ALL that was non operational with me and my BB friends here! The net, email, etc., everything else was good! Actually, didn't know we had a problem until I read about it here on CB...at&t, just north of Tupelo, MS.
bitemark Dec 23, 2009 at 9:18 am
Screw this, I'm rolling back to pre-5.0. The new one seems to take up more space while providing less information, and I miss being able to send tiny pictures very quickly.
curveman2318 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:19 am
I have a hard time believing that BBM brought the ENTIRE system down.....
Crackberry forum posts were just quoted on CNN regarding the outages.
dreedy1 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:20 am
I wish people could understand that outages are going to happen sometimes. Although be it that 2 outages in 10 days is a GREAT arguement for wanting to switch but what's gonna happen if 10+ million BB users switch to Android or AT&T for the iPhone?? Hell....MSN had a story just last week that AT&T can't handle the data traffic for the iPhone now!! And Android is relatively new...only a year and a half old. I highly doubt that they are prepared for a mass invasion of their data systems. Face it...I believe people are screwed either way they go. If people start jumping ship all of a sudden...the networks are gonna go haywire then you'll probably have some outages starting to form there too.
ridley35 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:25 am
Perhaps when the ship jumpers go to Iphone or Android, the loyal and reduced # of BB users won't encounter anymore outages due to mass uses....cup is usually half full....lol
dreedy1 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:30 am
LOL!! Excellent point....let the ship jumpers go ahead and jump. The loyal BB users will stay and when they start having issues on Android or whatever then we'll welcome them back...as long as they are on their hands and knees begging! Hahaha!!
One_Deep Dec 23, 2009 at 9:22 am
Had my blackberry for a week and already two outrages... Don't think I can accept this.
dreedy1 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:27 am
Trust me One Deep....it isn't normally like this. I've had a BB for two years now and until the last week, I've only had maybe 2 or 3 in those 2 years. Their network is very reliable but, for some reason, something has been going on the last week or so. It's normally very good. Give it a chance.
eyecon82 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:33 am
there have been outages every month for the past few months now...do a search
dreedy1 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:44 am
I know this...I'm just stating a simple fact that for the majority, it isn't like it has been. Be it true that they have had some outages, usually those outages are fixed pretty quick. It doesn't take 8-12 hours normally. I'm just as frustrated as everyone else is but part of the reason so many people are getting so worked up and frustrated is because this has been going on alot lately when it NORMALLY doesn't. In laymans terms...what is normally and historically very reliable has been having issues. When you're use to something working great then, all of a sudden, it starts having issues then you're gonna get worked up. We are creatures of habits and live in an age of "gotta have it now, want it to work now...faster faster faster". Just my opinion ;-)
Coffey123 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:27 am
I upgraded last night and when BBM came up all my contacts were gone...What can I do???????
labeld not0ri0us Dec 23, 2009 at 9:57 am
Glad I'm not the only one... I hope this gets fixed FAST. Did you back up your contact list? the remote contact restore feature is not working
chopsticks Dec 23, 2009 at 9:27 am
So BlackBerry goes out on the night of my birthday. Lovely. At least it is back and running for me. Time to re load my apps :)
JimmyH68 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:27 am
I have to agree that I was going through withdrawals yesterday and this morning, and i missed talking to to my a lot of people on bbm, but hey all I could do was laugh. it happens. dont like it, but it happens. just a coioncidence that it happened a couple times so close together. we all love our blackberries. all this getting irate and shouting expletives does not change that. move on. if you are going to change devices, you were going to anyway, and have something to blame it on now.
jcp007 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:29 am
It may have changed but I used the blackberry.com/messenger from my berry browser and it worked. When I went to App World, the emailed download link me to the page for version 22.214.171.124
starmsmac Dec 23, 2009 at 9:30 am
still out.. POUT.
dreedy1 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:47 am
Just out of curiousity, have you gone to your options menu, mobile network and run a diagnostic test?? Mine wasn't working this morning either...had 1xev instead of 1XEV so I ran a diagnostic test and bingo...data services took off! If you haven't tried that then give it a shot. If it doesn't work...I hope ya get back up and running soon!!!
stallions35 Dec 23, 2009 at 11:02 am
So everything looks good except that I am not connected to my hotmail email. My Balckberry.net email is connected....any ideas? Maybe that's why I can't retore my BBM updates as my back ups are sent to my hotmail email.
Qharisma Dec 23, 2009 at 9:30 am
Blackberry user (I've only had this, my first, for 5 months). . . . I'm highly disappointed. . . . While I'll probably never leave Verizon (they've come through for mr on multiple occasions) . . . . I will leave Blackberry and RIM in the past. . . 2 outages in approx. a week??? Is unacceptable (on top of the expensive apps, lack of a flash capable browser).
The sad thing is I love my device - Tour 9630 - I just hate all the things behind it that should be supporting it (Network, Apps, etc.)
daevulfe Dec 23, 2009 at 9:31 am
I think we should all go back to using quill and ink. No blackouts, no updates, very simple and easy to use. We can even use those little post it notes. Write a note, lick it, stick in on the wind and wait for a response. Silly? Ya. So is the fact that people want to jump-ship because of a technology glitch. If you want to jump-ship, then do it. I really can't help but wonder … with so many companies afraid of the 'kicking-the-cupboard-jump-shippers' is this why they keep pushing out products before they are fully tested? To keep them happy? Quill, ink and post it notes. I just wrote you one. Let me know when you receive it.
whoppo Dec 23, 2009 at 9:32 am
Well it was a very nice day yesterday.. The usual deluge of emails and messages was replaced, for a while, with an almost eerie, yet peaceful and relaxing quiet. What better holiday gift than one of tranquility in the midst of the most stressful and hectic of holiday seasons. I start a new day feeling well rested, having enjoyed the delightful sounds of silence.
Thank you RIM! May your entire staff enjoy a safe and warm holiday season and accept my very best wishes for a wonderful new year!
katiepea Dec 23, 2009 at 9:34 am
All of you saying "this happens" you need a reality check. Apple hasn't had ONE SINGLE MOBILEME OUTAGE IN 2 YEARS. And they get WAY more traffic than RIM. RIM can't call themselves business oriented and have an outage every month (which is what they averaged in 2009
madasafish Dec 23, 2009 at 9:55 am
Apple, had problems with the migration from .mac to me, and also had problems with email which at one point was up and down every day. MobileMe doesnt have as many subscribers as RIM, not by a long long way, and btw RIM have more corporate (enterprise) users than Nokia, and Apple.
Another uneducated user, may i suggest checking your facts before posting rubbish, i found 3 outages in the last month, we've not had a single outage on BB this year, maybe were lucky over here in the UK and Europe...
katiepea Dec 23, 2009 at 11:14 am
Hahahahahaha apple sees literally 10x the data usage on their servers as RIM, my facts are correct sir, and you, are a moron
madasafish Dec 27, 2009 at 11:08 am
so I am a moron.... me thinks not, you really do begger belief, when you spout such claptrap, you obviously do not work in IT or comms, other wise you would realise that MobileMe is a consumer product, whereas BB is both a consumer and an enterprise product..
Hope you manage to work out how to turn you berry on.
Btw... in future use a website such as www.google.com
whoppo Dec 23, 2009 at 9:55 am
I've got many friends and a couple of kids with iPhones... after reading your post I sent a quick email and made a couple of calls to ask how many of them use MobileMe.com
The results so far: 15 replies, 0 MobileMe.com subscribers.
One (1) of the repliers indicated that she tried to use MobileMe, but after losing several of her emails during a major (3 or 4 day) outage in mid-July of last year (2008), she opted to cancel her account after the trial period.
Looks like they had problems this past May as well.. I guess Apple is staffed by humans as well... oh the humanity.
EmilyPearson Dec 23, 2009 at 10:11 am
You could have done a quick Google search on "mobileme outages" and saved yourself the embarrassment from making such a stupid assertion.
mkjellman Dec 23, 2009 at 11:00 am
if you think mobileme gets more traffic than RIM's servers recieve, you clearly don't work in IT.
why do you think Steve Jobs is so ashamed of MobileMe? do some research before you post gross and wrong generalizations.
njbourne23 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:34 am
Hey crackberry nation! First off happy holidays to all that celebrate and a happy new year to all! (a little festive ;-D) I just downloaded the .57 and sent a few trial messages...went through perfect. About 20-30 mins after downloading though i see the lag is back. What's going on RIM. You are supposed to be solid in all that you do ha ha or at least that's how i see you guys. anyone else have the lag issue again? In the North East...ha hence the user name
labeld not0ri0us Dec 23, 2009 at 9:40 am
I downloaded the new BBM but now it won't restore my contact list??? SOMEONE HELP??
Coffey123 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:50 am
I have had the same problem since yesterday and still no solution...HELP!!!!!!!
labeld not0ri0us Dec 23, 2009 at 10:42 am
I've tried to reinstall it about 3 times and i ran 2 diagnostic tests... nothing works yet =/
madasafish Dec 23, 2009 at 9:44 am
to quote a technical phrase sh*t happens and unfortunately not everyone can be 100% or up like so many of you seem to think, as someone else said earlier, you really need to get out more.. and use either text messages or good old voice :). Can you let us know when you carry out your idle threats, as im sure RIM wont miss 2 customers, out of the 10+million that have been added in the past quarter...
truenorth Dec 23, 2009 at 9:45 am
Data traffic has to jump between the cell network and the internet, and in RIM's architecture that happens at only a few places called Relays. The first Relay was and still is in Waterloo. Other Relays are in the United States and Europe I believe. The interesting thing to watch is if RIM can recover the traffic that they were unable to switch between the two systems during the outage.
labeld not0ri0us Dec 23, 2009 at 9:52 am
Okay I woke up this morning with an email and a bunch of facebook notifications... I upgraded to the new BBM and now I'm not getting my email anymore and it wont remotely restore my contact list? wtf RIM I thought this was fixed? Someone help?
Macneil_S4 Dec 23, 2009 at 10:00 am
Hmm everyone complaining, but I just thought of something, what if all the outages are happening cause of 5.0 in general? Maybe they trying to prep everything for 5.0 (all phones and what not) for the near future and f'ing up along the way by accident? I could be wrong but it is getting annoying though. At the same time I'm sure RIM is working like he!! to fix too...
KeetaRay Dec 23, 2009 at 10:06 am
No complaining from me, my subject says it all.
moyjoy Dec 23, 2009 at 10:09 am
The conveniences my blackberry has brought me far outweigh an evening of service interruption.
Happy we're back.
gj712759 Dec 23, 2009 at 10:10 am
Upgrade successful but whipped my contact list still trying to restore it failed the first time. dunno if i really shold have upgraded
labeld not0ri0us Dec 23, 2009 at 10:12 am
Same here... I even redownloaded it and that didnt work. Now I'm running a diagnostic test hopefully that will do something
stallions35 Dec 23, 2009 at 11:37 am
Did you back it up to your email? I backed mine up to hotmail email and it seems I just can't connect to it, hense the check email status.
mkurz12 Dec 23, 2009 at 10:11 am
1) I backed up my BBM contact info.
2) DL ed the new ver of BBM.
3) Installed.
4) Restored my contact info...
.....and my BBM group is gone.
It's 4 steps that seemed to go flawlessly so I know there is nothing I did wrong.
Way to go RIM!
whoppo Dec 23, 2009 at 10:14 am
Each of the OTA BBM updates from mobile.blackberry.com worked perfectly on my 9700.. no contacts lost, no messages lost.
Simply said "yes, please upgrade" and two minutes later it was all set. Are the folks having problems using another method to update? Not backing their devices up either to the SD card or a desktop with BDM? Just curious.
Blkbear Dec 23, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I do both a remote backup and to the SD card, with the default to the SD card. I backup before installing a new OS. Also backup to BDM when I use the USB cable to charge every now and then.
slvrmoontiger Dec 23, 2009 at 10:15 am
Just talked to Verizon Wireless because my email is still backlogged. They informed me that they still do not have a time for full recovery.
mas73 Dec 23, 2009 at 10:18 am
They mentioned your name CrackBerry!
lonedog Dec 23, 2009 at 10:18 am
I see people blaming RIM and saying RIM should test more. I bet these are the same people who love to download and install leaked OS's and apps. Wonder why the OS's and apps haven't been officially released? It's because they're still undergoing testing or have failed RIM and the carriers testing. Stop blaming RIM, it's the thieves that leak the unreleased apps and OS's that cause RIM to rush out updates. Everyone loves updates, it's even better when the updates work the way they're supposed to with no surprises.
Muddville Dec 23, 2009 at 10:25 am
I had BBM version .33 on here when I read about the cause of the meltdown. Forgot to back up my contact list, although I had a recent archive. Used the link in the blog article to upgrade to .57 and rebooted when prompted. The conversation I'd forgotten to end was still there, as was my contact list. This was far easier than upgrading from the old 4.xx version to 5.0.
Can't help but wonder how many of these BBM upgrade issues are related to leaked/unapproved OS versions and/or operator error. That's certainly been the cause of a number of PC/Mac issues over the years.
crazy canuck Dec 23, 2009 at 10:27 am
we just crossed a very scary threshold
whoppo Dec 23, 2009 at 11:50 am
We crossed that threshold many years ago...
Back in May of 2000 a few lines of VB script code infected more than 50 million PCs and shutdown email services for countless huge corporations world-wide.... all beginning with the three words "I love you". The infrastructure that satisfies our growing need for communication is far more fragile and vulnerable than most folks realize... the RIM network is no exception. Given the levels of data flow through the RIM infrastructure, I'd say congratulations are in order for keeping it as reliable as it has been over the years. Service interruptions are a part of the game... fortunately a fairly small part in the overall picture.
davidnc Dec 23, 2009 at 10:30 am
Let's get em :p,,,, kinda feel that way but j/k posting it here made me feel better
mangolicious Dec 23, 2009 at 10:30 am
I don't use BBM, as a matter of fact I deleted that APP long time ago. I was able to connect to the net this morning, but after that I've had no success. Is the issue with the new software 5.0v??? BC before I upgraded I was fine, now I can't connect to the next, my keypad is all funky (letters sticking, delete function sticks and deletes everything or space bar OVER spaces.), even had instances where my fone won't let me do anything if I touch the screen other than open the clock feature.
Am I the only one with this issue or what???
Dafunkhead Dec 23, 2009 at 10:36 am
I have seen the number of users threatening to jump ship, using expletives, etc...well I say to you...good riddance!!
Yes, I agree that the outages have been one too many, but this hurts RIM more as a company than it does to the individual...bad publicity for their core competency is not good for business. I hope they resolve these issues as soon as possible.
Btw...I do not entirely believe the public statement on BBM5 being the main cause of the problem.
Have a great holiday everyone and keep smiling :-)
mcgeorge36 Dec 23, 2009 at 10:37 am
Anybody else having issues downloading the new messenger? I keep trying, but it keeps coming up with error codes, and stops.
Alrpal Dec 23, 2009 at 10:39 am
I am still having problems receiving company emails. It sounds like this is a continuation of last nights issues.
Windfury Dec 23, 2009 at 10:46 am
Same here, I am still having issues. Although, I am now receiving my company emails. I am unable to add any contacts in BBM. Everything is stuck under "pending authorization".
jcgsl Dec 23, 2009 at 10:49 am
My BES is working, at least it seems. My Yahoo email is coming in random but nothing is going out.
Los Angeles AT&T
Shay D. Life Dec 23, 2009 at 10:52 am
Upgraded, contacts restored successfully. I'm not jumping ship...to go where? iPhone? Droid? Nevermind, I'll stick to what I know, I remember people wasn't getting their CALLS on 9/11...from any phone company and we just lost data. It could have been worse.
cdowner Dec 23, 2009 at 10:53 am
do we have to upgrade to .57 or can we stick with something like .33? I tried .55 and .56 the other day and had problems with both, would rather with this whole outage going on stay with the one I know works.
Shay D. Life Dec 23, 2009 at 10:56 am
Go to 57., RIM is saying that there were issues with .55 and.56. I backed up my contacts to my SD card and upgraded with no problems...and fast.
blackbms Dec 23, 2009 at 10:59 am
Nice comment but I'm still w/o email and messenger on my Storm. Luckily (I guess) I have 2 other cell phones that I can get my email on. Thank goodness I have a Google Voice Number I can move between my phones and a "non" blackberry device that can access my email w/o Blackberry services.
Think it is getting really close to the time to move to the DROID.
Steward_Kane Dec 23, 2009 at 11:01 am
Statehouse Dec 23, 2009 at 11:02 am
I'm having major problems restoring contacts using the "Remote Contact List Recovery" option in bbm .57
I've went through this process in the past, and have never had a single problem. I'm getting stuck on the "Checking Email Status..." step.
Shay D. Life Dec 23, 2009 at 11:06 am
I know this won't help you now, but for future reference always backup to your SD card as well. Especially when it comes to data outages.
blackbms Dec 23, 2009 at 11:03 am
Well, it seems that I had to pull the battery on my STORM and now I'm getting my emails for the past 15 hours. I would much rather have a "Direct" link to my email rather than run it through Blackberry servers. Yes having some filters setup are nice but not as nice as having "Service".
stallions35 Dec 23, 2009 at 11:04 am
I am trying to restore using email and it says:
Please try again later. You are currently registered with the Blackberry Messenger Service. This is an automatic process that will complete in a few minutes.
Exceot its been like 2 hours....wtf?
ibcop Dec 23, 2009 at 11:18 am
I am getting the same thing. I guess the servers are being overwhelmed by everyone updating.
katiepea Dec 23, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Same thing here, no BBM yesterday, and today when I do "rims solution" I lose all my contacts, and they won't remotely restore, and my backup files are at home and I'm on vacation for 2 weeks. Thanks RIM, android looks better by the minute
zrfdude Dec 23, 2009 at 11:14 am
I think I have .33 which is listed as 2.8MB on App World, and .57 is 3.6MB That's quite a jump, and a big chunk out of my 8310's paltry memory. New Berry is only a few days away, I think I'll do without for now.
Never would have guessed BBM would have been the cause of this.
amsparky Dec 23, 2009 at 11:23 am
Mine came back online and now I have no web, bbm or email...again. Grrrrrr
jonsigler Dec 23, 2009 at 11:28 am
They are a bunch of clueless souls. "we are sorry sir, but this is out of our control" "yes we will be billing for this time since it is out of our control" Wait are you serious, my phone is down for the 2nd time in 2 weeks.
Alex015 Dec 23, 2009 at 11:28 am
posted on yahoo finance!
coolcanuck Dec 23, 2009 at 11:28 am
Can someone tell me what happens to all of the messages that were sent (back with red x's) and then resent? As well as the bbm messages which are ticked but not delivered or read?
I'm a little worried that I now HATE my blackberry because of what this piece of s**t with the F**ked up roller ball (again), and the broken f***ing charge port which was soldered back, that this device is now costing my business and me money because of what was LOST in transit during this latest outage....I've gone from 100% in love to 50%, and looking around...I almost threw my blackberry against a wall today in frustration.
I'd really like to know what happened to emails that were "in transit".
man, on a day like this with a joke for a company from my country, it makes me ashamed to be Canadian, bring on the flames, blind followers, I don't care, I'm VERY Pissed off.
Please respond with "you're screwed" if all was lost, or "you're only partially screwed" if I can expect messages to trickle in over the next 2 to 20 days, f*** you RIM!
Dafunkhead Dec 23, 2009 at 11:33 am
You are an id1ot!
coolcanuck Dec 23, 2009 at 11:38 am
go straight to he11 1oser
pastorbrad Dec 23, 2009 at 11:34 am
I don't even use BBM, either, like so many posters above.
Will really have to consider going to the iPhone when and if VZW gets it or a similar product. From what I've seen it is head and shoulders above this poor little Storm 1...
stallions35 Dec 23, 2009 at 11:34 am
I did a diagnostic run and it shows that I am not connected to my hotmail email. Any idea why?
......service levels and apologizes for any inconvenience to customers."
I'm not amused and neither were my clients.
2nd time in a few weeks.
Blechtman Dec 23, 2009 at 11:49 am
yeah, don't even use bbm. oh well, not going to hassle for a credit since i didn't even know there was an outage til i tried to check twitter at like 9pm
squane123#CB Dec 23, 2009 at 11:50 am
Ok, so it really wasn't a good time for a short bit there. The problem in my expert opinion is the shear numbers associated with RIM servers. This kind of stuff will happen until they completely update and make there servers larger. By larger I mean at least triple the size. BB is presently the WORLDS leading seller of smart phones. Each and every day it becomes more and more popular. In other words more people join the system that can't handle what is already there. In time it will all be good. The people that say they are jumping ship will come back and regret ever having made that decision. There may be better phones out there but who is really willing to take a chance on some of these newer smart phones. Not I, the only new smart phone I want will be the Storm 3.. Which will hopefully be dropping right around the time I am due for an upgrade. So until that point I will remain faithful to BB, RIM and the best smart phones out there. All others can bite me... haha...
thelyndy Dec 23, 2009 at 11:51 am
ok so data not working on cell service BUT why no WiFi??? I can understand the internet thing not working on the cell side of things but why could i not use the wifi for at least the web at my home?
juniorjavelin Dec 23, 2009 at 11:54 am
well since rim's connection affects wifi so i cannot connect to my wifi either, and seeing that when i go into browser i can only access, hotspot or my wap browser...no option for internet browser is available anymore...then how will i be able to upgrade to BBM 22.214.171.124 and fix all issues?
Windfury Dec 23, 2009 at 11:59 am
Hey guys~
I updated to the new version and I am still unable to add any of my contacts. I have sent invites and even though, my friends have accepted the invite, it remains in a "pending authorization" status. My friends have also updated to the latest BBM version.
Anyone else having similar issues?
Emails are now working fine.
stallions35 Dec 23, 2009 at 12:05 pm
I have been using BBM with a friend of mind and although we are messaging, the status is still pending...lol.
Only suggestion I have is wait it out. I am sure it doesnt help that everyone is panicking and trying to download the new BBM or accessing their back up contact file....Its Christmas! Go get those last minute shopping done, spend some family time and check back boxing day...lol.
Not directed at you per say just but to everyone thats ticked at RIM.
In the words of BArt Simpson...Aren't we forgetting the true meaning of this day (Christmas) , the birth of Santa?
adambremner Dec 23, 2009 at 12:01 pm
All data out again!
sk8er_tor Dec 23, 2009 at 12:09 pm
All data working for me on the Rogers network in Toronto. Emails, web browswing, apps are all up and running.
mbacon1906 Dec 23, 2009 at 12:13 pm
RIM you are so on your last leg with me. WinMo, or Google or something here I come LOL.
sheilahoang Dec 23, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Truth is, despite outages and all this talk about leaving BB and switching to whatever, we're all incredibly reliant on our phones...smart or not. Admit it people, the moment BB decided to not be j00 anymore, we were all incredibly annoyed, as well as extremely ecstatic that we were connected to the world again. I find it a little pointless to go on ranting about whatever when in reality, despite the issues, Blackberry is still a great phone. I'm just saying that no phone is perfect and some people have to be realistic. You're going to encounter problems with no matter what type of phone you choose, and trying to compare an outage that happened yesterday to any other phone is unfair because crap doesn't all happen at the same time. One day, that "other" phone is going to screw up and all the people on that forum are going to say similar things like this forum does. So please, people, for the sake of the holiday spirit...can't we all just get along? :)
Goooober Dec 23, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Out here in Ft.Lauderdale,Florida....on SPRINT. I still love my Blackberry! It just has a little cold right now..
HollyDolly Dec 23, 2009 at 12:17 pm
I thought the outage is over? My phone can't connect to the internet/etc (though I'm getting emails, some several times..grrr). App World won't connect (keeps timing out) so I checked Network Status and it says BES not connected. I rebooted, turned network on/off. NADA.
Is it just me? IT's 9:15 a.m. in CA. Helloooo, RIM, it's been nearly 24 hours.
juniorjavelin Dec 23, 2009 at 12:24 pm
no! not jus you i am having the same problem, except i am on BIS so it says my BIS is not connected. do u have the option in your browser to select the internet browser?
HollyDolly Dec 23, 2009 at 12:27 pm
BIS is connected, BES is not. So I tried BlackberryAppWorld again, it just connected. But it comes/goes and reading what everyone says on here about missing contacts with the new .57 BBM, um, I dunno if I want to download.
And no, I don't see that options on my browser...grr. Headache.
juniorjavelin Dec 23, 2009 at 1:01 pm
so im the only one on bis, that is not connected...argggh now im mad. and the wierd part is that i can sign into yahoo and msn messnger and all but once i click app world its telling me to upgrade to a plan that includes browsing
HollyDolly Dec 23, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I did...and I have no idea if that did the trick, but try. Also, once you've rebooted, turn off your radio/receiver and then wait 1 minute, then turn it back on. Maybe that'll work? It's not a fix, but it might do the trick.
juicebox666 Dec 23, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Ok, I'm pissed now. The outage I understand. Didn't like it, but networks go down. I'm pissed that I was being a good BB user and installed the new BBM .57 like RIM asked and it is stuck in the install cycle and rebooting and redownloading doesn't fix it. Now I don't have any BBM at all!! :(
stallions35 Dec 23, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I did it this morning and 3 hours later my contacts are showing up...do a diagnostics to make sure you BB is working properly, if it is, it will show p...just tales awhile cause everyone is trying to do the same thing at the same time...
mandeepkavita Dec 23, 2009 at 12:37 pm
This is just BS! Anyone else having issues with gmail push on BIS?
donald.aleshire Dec 23, 2009 at 12:38 pm
I have not yet updated, I have tried, but I have no internet so I can't really try lol.
Atleast the phone still works for making calls, hope they fix this soon!
Sprint Chicago
iamricku Dec 23, 2009 at 12:44 pm
email was up & down yesterday, today logged onto my desktop, all emails sent and received yesterday from the Blackberry are GONE
stallions35 Dec 23, 2009 at 12:47 pm
All is well again....my temporary fight with my 9700 is over...we hugged it out! Good luck to the rest of the you.
pettifordl Dec 23, 2009 at 12:48 pm
So many angry people because of an outage (for a few hours)... Technology is awesome but things go wrong and sh*t happens. A few missed emails or messages is not going to kill us!
HollyDolly Dec 23, 2009 at 12:57 pm
...but 24 hours later is not a few hours. And some of us conduct a lot of business from our phones, so it's not "no big deal".
SkySoldier Dec 23, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I also use my Bold for my small business. It's one of the main reasons why my company ditched the "cute" Iphones. last night my business partner (wife) and I ventured out of our office for some much needed rest and dinner. While sitting at the Olive Garden, I took a peek at my mail and nothing! Now, I know we should enjoy our meal but not answering some email might tank a contract and our new little business can't do that. It is a big deal for me...
SkySoldier Dec 23, 2009 at 12:49 pm
A few days ago I caught the back end of a segment on the news about a group or (coalition) that was mad at AT&T and wanted people to crash their system or servers down on purpose. Any truth to that? Or did I imagine it or got the news clip wrong. Regardless, I love my Bold and I'm sticking with RIM just like I did my teenage kids. Stuff happens with growth.
My two cents.
eje11 Dec 23, 2009 at 12:51 pm
After upgrading to the new bbm, I was waiting for my phone to reboot and actually got frightened with everyone complaining their contacts are gone. I was scared to look when i opened BBM. to my luck, contacts were all there plus the convo's i was having before I rebooted.
Everything seems to be working normally now. I think e-mail is still a little slow but since I'm @ my work computer now it shouldn't be a big deal.
I agree with the peeps who were saying outages are going to happen. My blackberry, by far, is the best phone I have ever used in my life. Sometimes I think I over-rely on it and yesterday freaked me out when BBM, my browser, e-mail and Ubertwitter failed me. But, I understand sh** happens. It's going to happen. RIM or any other network isn't perfect. =)
joshua.worth Dec 23, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Opera mini is the only thing working again grrrr. All in all this is just really annoying
davidnc Dec 23, 2009 at 1:11 pm
ROFL , its not so much that outage that gets me as the fact they always act like "Duhhhh" what happened(what can we tell them this time ?), and gunno charge you if their "stuff" is working or not .But yeah for those downloading the .57 bbm I bet its overloading to dont blow RIM up again all trying to get the new bb, at once(I got .57 right before the crash ) . Wonder what they would say if that happened? :p
So far everything is still working for me,but thats what I said yesterday just before it went boom!
Just got a message from RIM...everyone upgrade to .57
10:07am PST
YuriYoko Dec 23, 2009 at 1:07 pm
I have a friend that complains about the lack of memory on her curve - and refuses to install the microSD card that she bought and has sitting on her kitchen table...
There are complaints on here from people that txt maybe 10 people in their lives about having to change 10 numbers to a certain format.
Now the "I'm done with blackberry's because there was some system downtime"
I say good riddance to you all. Go get a phone that you don't actually have to learn how to use - you'll be happier and we'll be happier not having to spoonfeed you when you can't figure out why your OS is slow because you haven't restarted the phone in 6 months.
labeld not0ri0us Dec 23, 2009 at 1:11 pm
If there was a like button for your comment I would totally "like" it. I agree with you completely
lasvegasharley Dec 23, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Opra mini was working just fine for me during the outage. I could check my email accounts on yahoo and gmail. I do not use black berry messenger. So other than not having push email and push HTML, I would say the outage was a non issue for me.
Plazmic Flame Dec 23, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I've always wondered what the hell "Level 1" was in the sound profiles but I set a special tone for it anyways. I finally heard that tone today for the first time ever when I got that notification to upgrade to the new bbm and I thought my phone was wigging out. I think Level 1 is RIM.
Jedi_Blackberry Dec 23, 2009 at 1:23 pm
It was a flippin' outage not the end of the world!!! Trust me I am addicted to my bb just like the next person but have some prespective here folks!! Do you live in Utopia? If so please provide directions to the place that has no PROBLEMS whatsoever!!!!
So your BB didn't work for a time...pick up a lan line...log on to a desktop or laptop...you have other options for communication!!!
All of you complaining about the outage are stupid...yeah I said it!!! You want to leave BB's for something else good..GO!!! There will still be problem...it is technology...sometimes it fails!!! Nobody's perfect except for Jesus Christ and he has not returned YET!!! DEAL with it...crap happens!!!
Such IDIOTS!!!!
joshua.worth Dec 23, 2009 at 1:49 pm
And a lot of us are sick of it! But go ahead and keep sticking up for the corporate giant (your probably an employee) while the rest of us grow weary of all the issues with are garbage berries dumber than regular dumb phones. Lol.
Merry Christmas
davimich75 Dec 23, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I understand that every once in a great while I can undertand an outage. But its now getting out of hand. Stop tinkering with new updates and things when everything is working fine. Rim I don't know how much more of this I can take. I can see maybe 1 bad data day a year 2 at most but 2 in one week that's a problem. A serious problem. Quit tinkering around with the system already. A typical blackberry user doesn't even use bb messenger. Wow!
Rockafella Dec 23, 2009 at 1:32 pm
How do you figure a typical user doesn't use BBM? Its one of the safer ways to communicate rather than text. (more secure). This is surely your own opinion.
bradley_b Dec 23, 2009 at 1:40 pm
If a typical user doesn't use BBM, then how would BBM be responsible for the downtime?
I don't think you've thought this through.
Rockafella Dec 23, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I remember reading something a user said that blackberry really isn't a smartphone. Reason being is because blackberry isn't blackberry without a third party involved (RIM). If they're service goes down then your "smartphone" is now a "dumbphone" because it won't do anything but phone calls and text. Yeah phone service wasn't interrupted because RIM doesn't handle that part. If they did then all I would have is a paperweight.
joshua.worth Dec 23, 2009 at 1:40 pm
It was amazing how much faster the browser was and oh google maps? Streetview was loading instantly whenever Blackberry catches up maybe I'll come back.
iinfamousxjoe Dec 23, 2009 at 1:40 pm
after reading all of this i realized how pathetic everyone is. you're seriously going to threaten to cancel your service and change to different phones because of a couple outages? why don't you send a text message or make a phone call i mean how dependent are you on BBM and the browser.. seriously blackberry's are such great devices and outages happen, nothings perfect. you should be happy you didn't go through the t-mobile sidekick outage where tons of people lost literally everything on their phone.. pathetic.
oh even though my browser wasn't working, my MEdia net still worked, you can still browse the web with that so next time this happens all of you psychos can get your fix with using MEdia net..
joshua.worth Dec 23, 2009 at 1:45 pm
That this is just the icing on top of the huge nasty nasty cake of many glitches bugs always slow 3g (1XEV) but fast 3G if you use a third party browser I just want this expensive device to do what it's supposed to as fast as its supposed too. Merry Christmas RIM you suck and your $50.00 for one technical issue sucks too.
Goooober Dec 23, 2009 at 1:51 pm
There was a short outage earlier this afternoon but now my data is back up and running!
blackberryhulk Dec 23, 2009 at 1:57 pm
I can say since buying my first BB last November, I really dont understand why people still buy them? I guess its because they are soo cheap. Many carriers have buy 1 get 1 deals all the time. I have had more problems with my phone in 1 year than I have ever had in 10 years combined. I bought into the whole "Storm is a great phone" hype(lie) I really really want to hate the iPhone but the more I own this peice of junk the harder it gets. And its the simple things that blow my mind. like memory leaks? battery pulls every day.WTF. I guess I just want more than what a BB can offer and after yesterday I think my mind is made up, now I will just wait for what android phone is going to be the franchise player then throw this peice of junk in the trash where it belongs.
xandermac Dec 23, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I guess apple were right to knock the man in the middle approach at their keynote. 3 major outages in less than a month doesn't bode well.
gdinunzio Dec 23, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Isn't this at least the third or fourth outage this year? Two of the outages were within a week or two of each other? Totally unacceptable. We pay a lot of money for the service. It should be more reliable than this. I don't buy the excuse for the outage.
clintmbrannon Dec 23, 2009 at 1:59 pm
I can't help but laugh at some of these complaints... We were without a few functions for what? less than a day? I switched from T-Mobile Sidekick to VZW BB due to an outage that lasted a WEEK.. and not only was service out, contact, emails, texts, were LOST entirely. Think they offered to waive the ETF?!? hahaha.. Just gotta put these things in perspective... ALL carrier/devices experiences glitches/data loss on occaision. I think RIM does a pretty good job responding to such issues. Just my opinion...
unorthodoxneon Dec 23, 2009 at 2:05 pm
So everytime internet and cable tv goes down you switch? Or if the power goes out you move? Give me a break. Better yet give RIM a break. They fixed the problem and lets hope we wont see one for awhile.
krssosic Dec 23, 2009 at 2:16 pm
PREACH!! I work for a cable company, reading these posts remind me of the customers who call in furious about an outage. Its always the same thing "I'M SWITCHING!!!" and 30 days later they're still a customer. It was one day! I used to have a sidekick once upon a time...try going an entire summer in a data outage. T-MOBILE is the OUTAGE KING/QUEEN!!! I saw a post that said this was the 12th RIM outage this year...funny I've only experience 2. Technology will FAIL at one point or another, period.
krssosic Dec 23, 2009 at 2:10 pm
only upgraded to .57 because RIM pushed it to my phone. I'm surprised that it upgraded with no problems. everything was as how I had it I didn't have to restore anything. Of course I backed my BB up just in case. I hope this is it RIM!!!
shaleem Dec 23, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Some of these comments are way over the top! OK it was an inconvenience, twice in one week. But it's hardly worth freaking out over. Some of you do business with your BB so it's a major pain in the behind, but, really, some of the comments here are just plain freakin' ridiculous! Tell me which platform is 100% free of issues. There isn't one.
vangvace Dec 23, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Even with the outages, the BB services have still been more reliable this year than my work's (gov't) exchange server and internet access.
faraji834 Dec 23, 2009 at 2:31 pm
You know, they have been having problems for the last couple of weeks. Now after 2 separate days of losing both work & personal emails, the servers seem to be full & I can't even d/l the newest update of BBM!
They really need to get their priorities straight or they WILL start losing customers.
DreNaylor Dec 23, 2009 at 2:54 pm
I was already running it and still experienced the crash yesterday. My husband, who had the older version (.33?) did not. Hummm.....
bonocchio06 Dec 23, 2009 at 3:12 pm
I got bitter for a little bit as well yesterday. Started threatening to go Droid and all that. Then, I came to my senses. I'm not a corporate representative (not that anyone will believe me) and I live in the Pacific NW.
It happened. I missed my BB as much as anyone else, but I knew that RIM knew I missed it as well. I didn't envision a bunch of workers sitting in offices with their feet up on the desk laughing at us; I'm thinking they realized the importance of regaining service in this outage.
The ONLY thing I can think of that I would want is an explanation from RIM when this happens. If there is an outage and you know there's an outage, then find a way to let us know. CB/Twitter was alive yesterday once it began trickling in that an outage was happening.
I agree with other comments-how many times has your cable, phone or other utilities had issues? Did they refund you or let know what was going on? I'd bet not. It's technology, and we learn to live with it.
bonocchio06 Dec 23, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Oh, and I downloaded the new BBM and it installed and restored my contacts flawlessly on my VZW Storm 1, as well as my wife's VZW Curve 8330. No problems whatsoever. If you're having problems with e-mail restoration, you might want to make sure that the e-mail isn't going to your junk/spam folder for the account. Just saying.....
z28racin Dec 23, 2009 at 3:30 pm
I just got a urgent message sayin to update immediatly to version .057 Blackberry Messenger......Guess they really want people to update now?
Aztekslk23 Dec 23, 2009 at 3:36 pm
anyone notice a difference when downloading .57?
krssosic Dec 23, 2009 at 3:43 pm
only thing I noticed was that it installed flawlessly...unlike all the other updates I've downloaded.
SpaceMonster Dec 23, 2009 at 5:33 pm
All I notice is my phone keeps freezing the F up everytime I try to upgrade. Very nice.
I can use the BBM, but if I click on the app world program or anything to do with the program my freekin phone freezes completely!!! this is rediculous!
krssosic Dec 23, 2009 at 3:54 pm
do a battery pull. Ever stop to think that maybe that's a phone/software issue, and not a RIM issue. Not everything that goes wrong with your BB is the fault of RIM...Ex:I downloaded Pandora from App World and it BRICKED my phone. I didn't blame RIM, I call VZW and got a replacement.
Gadgetman007 Dec 23, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Just got an official email on my BB from RIM stating if I recently installed BBM 188.8.131.52 or 188.8.131.52 versions to please upgrade to 18.104.22.168 and instructions on how to do so. Kevin was on top of it as always - good job! Now the world is revolving again...
Is anyone else having e-mail issues still? Everything else on my BB is functioning great. Except, my e-mail is still lagging. I'm receiving the e-mails on my BB, but they're late and some are actually missing.
I'm also not receiving any sent confirmations when I'm sending out e-mails from my phone. Did a reboot and still the same problem. Double checked my e-mail settings to make sure everything is copasetic and it is.
Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing similar problems...
Thanks. =)
This info isn't accurate as I haven't updated my BBM since Dec. 14th, I was just running the stock one that came on my 9700 which was .33 I believe and I still had issues. Just upgraded now and I'm still not able to reply to my BBM's, I can only receive them. When I try to send any out, that pending clock comes up.
SpaceMonster Dec 23, 2009 at 3:59 pm
It would be nice if I could actually upgrade my BBM without it freezing up on me.....STILL!
facegirl Dec 23, 2009 at 4:03 pm
First of all,I still love my bb and I an not switching. But, yesterday in the evening all of a sudden my BBM icon just disappeared. I was unable to successully install .57 until this morning, but I can't seem to restore my contacts (remotely). All it says is "checking email status" and just sticks right at this point.
Is anyone else having this problem? Does anyone know how to solve this?...help please.
Blkbear Dec 23, 2009 at 4:15 pm
But I also do backups to the SD card, and that worked just fine. I'm sure that the remote backup, is well backed up, with all the other things in the que. hehehe
SoCalJoe Dec 23, 2009 at 4:12 pm
After two hours post upgrade to.57.......
No bbm's have sent for past hours :(
shaleem Dec 23, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Are you kidding me? People flipping out just because they lost service for a while? Again I ask, name a platform that 100% trouble/issue free. Just one! Those of you sounding like you're ready to jump off of the nearest bridge need to get a grip. You don't like RIM? Get rid of your BlackBerry. There ain't no anchor on your behind! Not everyone who is still mostly pleased with RIM works for them. Give me a freakin' break! What do you think? It's a freakin conspiracy? LMAO!!
SpaceMonster Dec 23, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Yes we're pissed off! SEcond MAJOR outage in....what, a week?? I rely on my BB, I don't just keep it around for fun!
nutsandberries Dec 23, 2009 at 4:33 pm
After being in IT for 25 years, I don't know of anyone who would make an change to their infrastructure (unless absolutely critical) during this time of the year, and especially in their business with some many customers relying on their service. I can only imagine with all the holiday activities that families are pushing the service to its limits. Besides, with Christmas vacations, staff is usually down to support any issues like the one they had, so most "changes" are pushed this time of the year until January. It's for the very reason that a change was made that no one suspected any impact that it should not have been done at this time. I know any outage at any time of the year is not desireable, but isn't this the worse time?
saki75 Dec 23, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Ok so I upgraded to BBM .57 this morning, and all seems OK. I have NO intention of leaving BB because of outages, because frankly, I've only been affected by 2 or 3 in the last 3 years. Is it annoying? Yes. Inconvenient? Absolutely. HOWEVER, I'm on my 3rd BB now (9700) and I wouldn't change for any other platform. I mean seriously, before we had cellphones we had landlines, and honestly we had WAY MORE issues with weather-related outages (floods, frozen lines, etc). I work for a phone company in NYC, and could EASILY switch to another platform. But I won't.
Hell, I didn't even have to restore my contacts! I never use remote backups, only local backups to my media card so I have immediate access in cases where I don't have data svc.
Well, so far so good...
pardytime Dec 23, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Well so glad I tried to keep my BB up to date! Downloaded the new BBM (5.0.57) and it bricked my phone! So glad I am on the third Tour. errrrr
cb05stang Dec 23, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Given all the hype of those threatening to leave BB.
I wouldn't want to be married to any of these.
I still love mine and will keep it as long as I want.
Despite its technical hiccups every now and then. It's a growing product and thus situations are bound to be expected. It's got character :p .
Downloaded the update with no problem last night through app world on my S2. Tried doing the same on my daughters Tour and it wouldn't take until today.
I was online last night and all of a sudden my internet connection was cut. Had to reboot the modem to establish a connection again. Using Verizon up here in Jersey.
I know I'm going to sound silly on the matter but I was just wondering if anyone else had a similar thing happen ?
Just coincidence, just me being paranoid, or is there a connection ?
titogreggy#CB Dec 23, 2009 at 5:08 pm
im now having my doubts about BIS, 2 data outages in the last week they're happening a lot more frequently.. fix your S**T RIM!!
bsbeamer Dec 23, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Verizon in NJ... Blackberry Curve 8330. multiple email accounts down, internet down... is this ANOTHER outage, or is it just being spotty again?
upgraded BBM this AM, as was told to do, now running ver 5.0.57... everything was working after this for quite a long time, then around 5pm everything just stopped... ugh...
I will never go to an Iphone. NEVER !!!
PrttyBrwnEyez13 Dec 23, 2009 at 5:20 pm
I tried to upgrade to the new BBM. My phone froze, and when I did the soft reset, the icon was gone. I finally had to redownload it through App World and it worked.
NikolasMM Dec 23, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Is it really that big of a deal that you didn't get your emails for a day on your BB, or that you had to use SMS instead of BBM? OH MY GOD THEY TRIED TO UPDATE THINGS AND MY PHONE DIDN'T WORK! Can you go to RIM and tell them what they did wrong so it doesn't happen again? Yeah me either.
SpaceMonster Dec 23, 2009 at 8:14 pm
YES it's that big of a deal if our emails go down for one day!!
NikolasMM Dec 23, 2009 at 6:44 pm
I would also like to add that anyone that complains about how their phone freezes or that is junk might want to research a little more about using their BB. It is not just a phone its a tiny computer and needs some of the same things done to it that a normal computer or laptop would need. Such as closing your apps using the BB button instead of just hitting the back button or end key. Also as much as one might think it shouldn't have to be done the BB needs to be rebooted every once in a while by pulling the batter or downloading the quickpull software. Gotta maintain your stuff can just use and abuse and expect it to work properly. I know some of you know all of this and that it has nothing to do with the outage yesterday. This is for all the ones that constantly complain about how their phones don't work or they freeze or they can't download without a problem. I know a lot of people at work that have no clue about some of this stuff.
lordnordeth Dec 23, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Those of you that are pi$$ing and moaning that you're going to leave your 'Berry and switch to "the new best thing" (whatever to hell that is this week) please just do so, that way a) You'll be OFF the damned RIM server and stop clogging it up and crashing it on the rest of us, and b) You won't have a reason to be on a 'Berry specific forum/site anymore, so we won't have to listen to you moan anymore...it's been nice knowing you, please don't let the door hit yer ar$e on the way out. Oh, btw, if you live in NY or San Fran...good luck with the iPhone...hear they work GREAT during the peak business hours in those two areas...really.
Now, toddle off like good little kiddies so us adults can go back to what we were discussing.
SpaceMonster Dec 23, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Probably most of the people pissing and moaning ARE the adults. I NEED those emails. You're the one who sounds like some kid.
lordnordeth Dec 24, 2009 at 1:19 am
That's me...I'm a kid. One who works a 50-60 hour week, buys all my own toys...and actually found the silence yesterday to be kinda nice this time of year. Being able to get my own work done, instead of fixing everyone else's issues was kinda nice.
OK, I understand that it was inconvenient for some...but if you have one piece of tech as your ONLY source of communication with your clients, and employers/employee's, then you're asking for trouble. A business (or anything else) needs to have backups in place, and if you don't, then that just shows lack of foresight.
I live in an area where bad weather often causes havoc with mobile devices, so I have other options...you should to, and if you don't, don't bitch when a company that serves multiple MILLIONS of individual accounts, has an issue with their gear. It happens. Tech malfunctions, I see it all the time with my job, whether it be comms, surveillance, or mechanical gear, it ALL breaks sometimes. If you can't accept that fact, then maybe you need to re-examine your opinions on how you do business.
And just to deal with your opinion on my age...I'm in my mid 30's, and work as Head of Security for a Federal Government Facility.
blueheaven427 Dec 23, 2009 at 9:56 pm
some people seriously think it's that big of a deal...relax! take a chill pill and enjoy the holidays. peace!
RolandDargentan Dec 23, 2009 at 11:21 pm
If you are still having problems with your email, specificly gmail, you may have click on your email icon and reaccept the user agreement. Mine was hidden and buried, so it took a while to figure it out.
Now, it seems to me that a lot of these people that are complaining so loudly are the same ones that constantly returning their phones for every little problem.
I am constantly texting, messaging, and surfing, and this is the first outage that I have even noticed in over a year. Yes, I was irritated yesterday, but that all it was, a mild irritation.
There has been a lot of speculation as to what caused this outage and people are blaming it on server overload. There is no evidence to support this assumption. If I had to make a wild guess, I would that there was a glitch in the backend server software supporting the rollout of BBM .56 and once enough people came online it caused the servers to crash. Hence, the quick rollout of .57. That's just a guess.
RolandDargentan Dec 23, 2009 at 11:21 pm
If you are still having problems with your email, specificly gmail, you may have click on your email icon and reaccept the user agreement. Mine was hidden and buried, so it took a while to figure it out.
Now, it seems to me that a lot of these people that are complaining so loudly are the same ones that constantly returning their phones for every little problem.
I am constantly texting, messaging, and surfing, and this is the first outage that I have even noticed in over a year. Yes, I was irritated yesterday, but that all it was, a mild irritation.
There has been a lot of speculation as to what caused this outage and people are blaming it on server overload. There is no evidence to support this assumption. If I had to make a wild guess, I would that there was a glitch in the backend server software supporting the rollout of BBM .56 and once enough people came online it caused the servers to crash. Hence, the quick rollout of .57. That's just a guess.
BB.newb Dec 24, 2009 at 3:07 am
If you think it's unacceptable:
1 wave hello to your ego
2 design a better smartphone
3 build it
4 design the software for it
5 code it
6 make it PERFECT because you think it should be and ALL software is completely FLAWLESS
7 build a worldwide back-end network for it to run on
8 make that network PERFECT too
9 parade it around for all the world to see and have you and only you to complain to/about when it screws up
10 leave the rest of us the hell alone with your bitching and moaning
any questions?
cb05stang Dec 24, 2009 at 11:39 am
Thank You !
Kostantinos Dec 27, 2009 at 6:46 am
the new bbm update erased all my bbm contacts... twice! pain in the ass
sofloberry Dec 27, 2009 at 8:49 pm
I downloaded the new updated version of BBM and it just kept on clocking and clocking for aprox 45 min. Then I had a bright idea to malually reboot the phone, well that resulted in loosing all of my contacts! Updates are supposed to ease things but it didn't ! Wonder if President Obama has these issues with his BB? I should have read the reviews on BB apps, the vast majority of comments were complaints of the same thing I just stated.


text:
Getting Vaster: My Weekend at the New Organizing Institute Blogger's Summit
by fbihop, Mon Mar 17, 2008 at 09:16:46 PM EDT
or, Sowing the Seeds of the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy
Dozens of progressive bloggers descended upon Washington DC for a Blogger's Summit this weekend. From the reddest of red states to the bluest of blue, from huge state blogs to smaller state blogs, from bloggers on black issues to bloggers on Latino issues, it was truly a diverse group of bloggers. Oh, and at times, it seemed as if half the people at the bloggers hailed from California, Colorado and Michigan.
The effort by the New Organizing Institute, the Center for American Progress, Media Matters and the Arca Foundation was phenomenal, and my hat is off to them.
Also at New Mexico FBIHOP and Daily Kos and Open Left
Day One
Bloggers arrived throughout Thursday night and Friday afternoon and made tghgeir way from the different area airports and Union Station to the Hilton Garden Inn. There, Lola Elfman, Judith Freeman, Laura Packard and Nirmal Mankani from the New Organizing Institute and Wendy Norris from the Center for Independent Media greeted weary blogger travelers from around the nation. When someone you've never met from a city you've never been in greets you by your name, it is a bit creepy until you figure out how she did it^.
After a few minutes of awkward blogger mingling (at least in my case), we headed downstairs into the brightly lit bowels of the hotel for some introductions and - more importantly - dinner.
At the dinner in the hotel, I sat next to Dean Barker from Blue Hampshire and Beratunde Thurston from Jack & Jill Politics and Laughing Liberally. Not exactly my normal neighbors while sitting down for a meal back in New Mexico. Especially when the dinner is finished off by some deliciously sweet and fattening cheesecake for dessert.
From there, we headed next door to another small conference room to introduce ourselves more formally and let it be known which topics we would be most interested in adding to the session schedule. We started out by standing up and saying, "I'm __ and I blog at ___ and I'm a blogging addict." OK, maybe not, but even if we had, we were among fellow blogger addicts.
We voted on what topics to add to the session schedule, and I jokingly asked whether it would be via primary or a caucus system. This immediately set off a flurry of progressive poli-blog nerdy jokes from around the room.
After the votes were counted (Florida demanded a revote), we went on to learn more about our fellow bloggers, speed-dating style. Bloggers had two minutes to talk to a fellow blogger across the table before moving on to the next. Yelling over the cacophony of voices, we learned more about each other. All went smoothly, except one blogger who shall not be named^^ somehow messed up the rotation. I have to admit, while I thought it was corny beforehand, afterwards I thought it was a really great idea to get to know at least some of my fellow bloggers.
The fun didn't end there, however. Thanks to the wonderful semi-stalkerish quality of Facebook, Lola was able to find out it was the birthday of Jerid from Buckeye State Blog. After a surprisingly not off-key rendition of Happy Birthday, many of the bloggers, myself included, consumed even more sugar in the form of birthday cake.
All I'll say about our time at the hotel bar is that beers were $6.60 each. And they say gas prices are skyrocketing.
Day Two
We woke up at an atypically early time for a weekend (8:00 am) for breakfast. After an epic walk to CAP headquarters (walk out the front door of the hotel, turn left at the corner, go up elevator in the first building), we were treated to coffee, orange juice and bagels for breakfast. For us Mountain Time Zone denizens, it was extremely early. For the large Cali contingent, it must have been nearly unbearably early.
After breakfast, the first session was near and dear to all our hearts -- Building a State/Issue Blog. You can read the notes from the session here and here from Beratunde and Kenneth Quinnell from the Florida Progressive Coalition. Also, I'm sure any of those who attended would be more than glad to tell you what they thought of any of the sessions.
Other sessions I attended included Building Coalitions and Moving an Agenda, with Adam Green from MoveOn.org and Matt Stoller from Open Left where we learned about how to use a coalition of lefties to push an issue near and dear to our hearts. Blogs alone cannot do everything, just as activist groups alone can no longer have the optimal effect. Instead, you need a coalition of all sorts of groups to most effectively push an agenda. Again, notes from Quinnell.
I attended the Blogging as a Business session which was very informative and led by Julie Fanselow of Red State Rebels. There are dozens and dozens of effective state bloggers out there with dozens and dozens of great ideas. And there even are a few ways to squeeze a few dollars out of this whole blogging thing -- though very few will make enough to live off their blogging.
Some examples:
- Blog for a campaign.
- Work for a progressive group or non-profit as a blogger.
- Have high enough traffic to bring in ad revenue. (HA!)
- Sell audience access (e-mail lists/readers/etc.) to groups
After that session, I am now set to make millions of dollars.
The next session I attended was Citizen Journalism with the folks from the Center for Independent Media moderating. It was refreshing to hear how citizen journalism works from the perspective of journalists working online. The fact that they are opening an office here in New Mexico is very tantalizing.
I stayed upstairs from the main room to talk about Tech Tools with Jason Rosenbaum and Nirmal Mankani. We talked about the advantages and disadvantages of the different blogging platforms (most of us use and love Soapblox). We also learned of some great online resources like Legistorm and CoverItLive.com (I'd heard of the first but not the latter).
After a short break, we all gathered in the main room again for a session about holding the media accountable for everyone's favorite internet media watchdogs, Media Matters. We learned a little more about what they do, how they do it and how we can apply it to our local mediascape. We should look for the thoughts that are "inaccurate, unreliable, or not credible" not just conservative thoughts in the media.
One could argue they are one and the same, but that person would just be cynical.
That night ended with a dinner and party at an Irish bar in Dupont Circle. On the Saturday before St. Patrick's day. It was loads of fun mingling with bloggers and other DCites at the "Kiss Me, I'm a Blogger" party^^^.
Day Three
With some attendees nursing hangovers from the previous night (I won't name names... but I may have been one of them), some of us sadly had to check out of the hotel before going to CAP for our final sessions.
Joel Silberman gave us a great, great introduction to media training. He let us know if any of us are lucky enough to be on TV how to look, what sort of body language to use, how to talk, where to look, etc. The biggest piece of advice? Be authentic. People will notice.
I continued my media training with Cliff Schecter who gave us a few more techniques about how to talk on the media. Be polite at the start, be knowledgeable and don't let them go on the offensive the entire time. We watched three examples of progressives doing this in the media.
The first was fellow summit-goer Mike Rogers eviscerating Sean Hannity on TV. The other two were, Cliff Schecter showing the GOP is the real party of corruption and Sam Seder embarrassing the War on Christmas warriors.
The rest third day was more filled with policy thoughts that you, dear Kossacks, probably know a lot about, and I won't lecture you about. But one last thing was very, very informative: an appearance by netroots darling Darcy Burner.
She spoke of a major Iraq Plan coming out from ten Democratic Congressional candidates. Here are the Cliff Notes (I'm sure you'll be hearing about this daily for a while now):
- No residual troops
- A "Diplomatic surge" (which I assume is a surge of diplomats)
- Humanitarian work for refugees
- Fixing structural problems in the US like:
- No more torture
- No more signing statements
- No more private combat contractors (mercenaries)
Final Thoughts
This was one of the greatest experiences of my life. The name of this post comes from something one of the bloggers said (I don't quite remember who, unfortunately) -- the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy is getting vaster with this summit. We made valuable contacts and all learned how to be a little more useful and effective to progressive causes and readers.
Kyle Michaelis from New Nebraska said in twenty years we might look back at this summit, this meeting and training of progressive state-wide and issue bloggers and see it as the start of a huge movement. I hope so.
For more, see the Blogger Summit Wiki at the NOI website.
^^ Brandon from The Super Spade
^^^ I did not see any bloggers being kissed and am considering suing for false advertising.


text:
July 29, 2014
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Trips to the grocery store in West Virginia are becoming easier on shoppers' budgets.
After years of phasing the food tax out, starting Monday, July 1, it will be eliminated.
"For too long West Virginians have been burdened by a regressive tax on one of life's basic necessities," Governor Earl Ray Tomblin said. "The elimination of the food tax allows families to keep more of their hard-earned money."
The phase-out was initiated in 2005 when the food tax was six percent.
It went down to three percent in 2008 and to one percent in 2012.
On July 1, families will have saved $162 million a year since the beginning of the phase-out. The average family of four will save $52 a year due to the last one percent tax rate reduction.
The elimination does not apply to the purchase of prepared food, vending machine food or soft drinks.


text:
BEIJING — The worst of the anti-Japanese protests that have swept China in recent days may be over. The financial fallout for the world's second- and third-biggest economies may be just beginning.
Japanese-owned factories, restaurants, mini-marts and clothing retailers across China closed en masse Tuesday as protests continued in nearly 100 cities, sparked by a dispute over control of uninhabited islands near Taiwan.


text:
Journal Sentinel book editor Jim Higgins highlights things worth reading, in print and online
Brookfield native Ayad Akhtar wins Pulitzer for drama
Brookfield native Ayad Akhtar has won the Pulitzer Prize for drama for his play 'Disgraced.'
In his review of a New York production of the play, New York Times critic Charles Isherwood called "Disgraced" "a continuously engaging, vitally engaged play about thorny questions of identity and religion in the contemporary world, with an accent on the incendiary topic of how radical Islam and the terrorism it inspires have affected the public discourse."
In his review of a Chicago production of "Disgraced," Chicago Tribute critic Chris Jones wrote "Akhtar is a significant talent and formidable dramatic writer, jumping headfirst into an ethnic maelstrom wherein few writers would dare even tread water."
Akhtar, a New York resident now, is also a novelist, actor and screenwriter. Duane Dudek profiled him in 2012, when Akhtar had just published his novel "American Dervish." "Themes of identity, assimilation and Muslim life in America run through all his works," Dudek wrote.
Akhtar's father, a cardiologist, and his mother, a retired radiologist, were born in Pakistan and moved to Wisconsin in the 1960s, Dudek reported. Akhtar told Dudek they were a secular family but attended a mosque on Milwaukee's south side.
Tags: Ayad Akhtar
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text:
It has the power to bring people together and make them all smile. It's even renowned in some social circles as an aphrodisiac.
That was what was on minds of the women in Lynn Gorodsky's living room on the evening of their bi monthly Charitable Salon in Menlo Park, California. It was even being passed around as a light snack while they waited for a presentation about Global Exchange that would change their perspective on chocolate forever.
"I never thought I'd be moved to tears about fair trade," Gorodsky said.
Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based human rights organization that promotes social justice through its "Fair Trade" label, was being showcased that evening. At each Charity Salon, a different member takes charge of identifying a local organization to present to their fellow Salon members. They can choose any charitable organization they like, as long as it is local.
"In the beginning, we chose to only present local charities so that we could all participate in the organizations directly if we were inspired to," Gorodsky explained.
She founded the organization one year ago this month with the goal of identifying needs in the community and then allocating resources to satisfy those needs. This evolved into hosting informal Charitable Salons at her home for her 15 of her female friends who live in Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, and Redwood City.
Since the inception of the Salon, the women have volunteered countless hours of their time to places like the , Habitat for Humanity, and , and hosted five salons. All of the women have vowed to also donate $50 per presentation to the philanthropic organization of the month.
This past month, member Judy Murphy presented Global Exchange's "Raise The Bar" campaign, which has a goal of getting brand name chocolate companies such as Hershey's to start using fair trade cacao.
She showed the women the documentary "The Dark Side of Chocolate," which was released in 2010; it tells the tale of journalist Miki Mistrati, who travels to the Ivory Coast to see if rumors he heard were true. Mistrati had gotten word that children as young as 11 were being forced into slavery on cocoa plantations, so he sewed a video camera into a black button down shirt and ventured off in search of the truth.
Mistrati captured footage of children‑-primarily from Mali and Burkina Faso -- who had been lured to a bus station in Zegoua, a town in Southern Mali, with the promise of a job. That's where he and a few human rights advocates with whom he was working found a gangly 12-year-old girl named Mariam Marico who had come to the station looking for work.
Children like Marico are routinely picked up by men on motorbikes from this bus stop and transported to the plantations. Plantation owners pay child traffickers to transport these boys and girls, ranging in age from eight to 14, to a place from which few escape. Those who do try to escape are chased down by guards and beaten.
According to this documentary, a child from Burkina Faso, Africa can be purchased for about 230 Euros and used for as long as the plantation owner wishes to keep them. 1.8 million children work in the cocoa fields; thousands of those do so without pay.
"I had no idea that this was happening," said Charitable Salon member Cheryl Lilienstein. "And the audacity of the Chief Secretary of the Department of Labor on the Ivory Coast… He said the reason that all the children were going to the bus station was so that they could go on vacation."
When Mistrati interviewed The Chief Secretary in the documentary, the Secretary denied that the labor situation posed a problem for the country.
Gorodsky said that the most moving part of the documentary for her was hearing the perspective of the children.
"They're locked into their rooms in the evening; they receive zero money, and could be working for five to years," Gorodsky said. "They're so depressed and defeated that it breaks my heart."
Many of the women in the Charitable Salon vowed to only purchase fair trade chocolate, after learning about how detrimental the chocolate industry is for the children of the Ivory Coast, who have few employment options. On these cacao plantations, children pick the cacao pods from the trees with machetes, without any protective clothing or masks to shield them from pesticides. Many of them have persistent back pain from carrying loads of cacao pods that are almost as heavy as they are.
Major corporations such as Mars, Kraft, Cargill, and Nestle continue to purchase cacao beans from plantations that use child labor, citing an inability to regulate what practices farmers use to harvest their crops as an adequate reason to deflect responsibility. None of these companies have responded to inquiries.
The Charitable Salon will meet again on March 21 to hear a presentation about Mercado Global, a company that distributes products made by underprivileged women in the U.S.
The Salon does not have a website yet, but it is in the works. In the meantime, interested parties may contact Lynn Gorodsky at email@example.com for more information.


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Tak: The Great Juju Challenge is an Action/Adventure video game for Xbox developed by Avalanche and published by THQ on September 19, 2005. It's rated Everyone by the ESRB and 7 of our users have voted it 3.4 out of 5 stars.
Our newest cheats for Tak: The Great Juju Challenge were added April 11, 2006. We also have the game available on PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Nintendo DS, in addition to Xbox.
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