iPhone not to blame for Duke outage
So much for the theory iPhone designers were North Carolina fans. Cisco and Duke University are now absolving the iPhone of any blame for wireless network outages at the school, as was earlier alleged, but they aren't saying exactly what caused the problems.
Turns out the iPhone was wrongly accused of causing the Blue Devils Wi-Fi problems.
(Credit: Duke University)In a news report earlier this week, a Duke official directly implicated the iPhone for causing network issues that knocked out parts of Duke's wireless network. But Duke spokeswoman Tracy Futhey, in a statement Friday on the school's Web site, said: "The reality is that a particular set of conditions made the Duke wireless network experience some minor and temporary disruptions in service. Those conditions involve our deployment of a very large Cisco-based wireless network that supports multiple network protocols."
Cisco added that it worked closely with Duke and Apple to identify the source of this problem, and has "provided a fix that has been applied to Duke's network and the problem has not occurred since," according to a statement.
A Cisco representative declined to comment on the exact fix that was applied, and whether other customers will be affected by a similar problem.
Apple declined to comment on the specifics of the issue, directing questions to Duke officials.
CNET News.com's Tom Krazit contributed to this report.
Michelle Meyers is an associate editor who tracks online happenings in media, entertainment, and politics. E-mail Michelle. 
Imagine what could happen if somebody produced a home-brew device that could use the cause of the Duke-incident to take down other Cisco-based wireless networks on demand. A terrorist could wipe millions off of the stock market by driving round Silicon valley and downing fortune 500 networks, or blackmail companies by threatening to do so.
Hey, wasn't Mel Gibson just in that movie, or was it the other guy?
Second, Kevin Miller showed how dangerous it is to jump the gun. Earlier, he blamed the iPhone and said it was not a Cisco problem "in any way, shape or form." This led to widespread speculation that there was something massively wrong with the iPhone. While noob network technicians and system admins can usually be counted on to blame (or not blame) some key piece of equipment without the proper data or troubleshooting, Kevin should have known better. From what I have read, he is not a noob.
Let this be a lesson to all IT people: learn how to handle the press in highly public situations. Any statements you make early in the data gathering phase could come back to haunt you.
chance to bash on Apple, what if someone figured out a way to use
that information (if it had been true) but now they are all hush
hush top secret?
the only reason they are quiet now is that they already look like
morons, and thy don't want to risk it again....
probably not saying anything this time, because they learned their
lesson, and still aren't comfortable with their "diagnostic skills" -
what if they're wrong again?! Could you imagine how completely in
competent they would appear?
Apple gets a gold star on the forehead.
Duke's IT department gets to stand in the corner for 15 minutes
because they were adamant it was the iPhone's fault, and then
afterwards tried to rewrite history by blaming the news media
for mischaracterizing their statements.
Oh, and by the way, there's a world of difference between being "crucified" and having been charged with a crime and remaining free to move about while your pricey lawyers prepare your case. I think that falls more in the category of having a really bad year.
accused and indicted on severe, violent felony charges and Duke
removed them from the school. This is common practice
everywhere. Once the boys were cleared, they were given the
option of returning to the school. The blame rests totally on the
local police, Mike Nifong, and all of the protesters that rushed to
the girls side out of political motivations of their own (yes, that
includes the almighty Al Sharpton).
Speaking as an outsider, it was easy to see from the published
reports of her story that something was fishy in her story about
a week or two in. The recent culture of believing the victim
without examining the story carefully however, is at the root of
the problem. It has become politically unpopular to question
the "victim' or his/her motivations so you end up with the media
circus in question.
But linking that with a network manager who made an ill-
informed statement is out there dude. It just shows you how ill-
informed you are.
The reality is that for all Duke's s-e-n-s-i-t-i-v-i-t-y training classes, if you are White or Apple, you are guilty until proven innocent. Sensitivity only applies to minorities.
If Duke did nothing wrong, as the previous commentor wrote, then why did Duke settle out of court with the three boys?
Duke, lacrosse players reach settlement
Published: Jun 18, 2007 02:57 PM
"DURHAM - Duke University has reached a settlement with each of the three former lacrosse players and their families. The university made the announcement this afternoon. According to a press release issued by Duke, the terms of the settlement will not be disclosed."
for a network issue at ONE university. It's not like the whole
midwest region went down. How many large corporations have
network issues? How many do you see doing press for it? Hell,
they don't even let the employees know what the issue was. With
Mr. Miller's statement to the press in today's environment he had
to know it would spread. He may be an intelligent guy that made
a mistake, but he doesn't have a thread of common sense. Of
course all the MS water boys had to chime in with their usual
name calling tactics with no real substance or facts to back up
their arguments. Where are they now? Mr. Miller should have
said he didn't know what the issue was. Instead he was adamant
it wasn't a Cisco issue. Placing the blame on the iPhone. Again
you have to ask yourself why make a statement to the press? It
was kind of laughable to watch the so called "professionals" in a
zealot like fashion condemn Apple as usual & wind up with egg
on their face. Now I can't wait to read the usual Apple conspiracy
stories from the usual talking heads About how The Evil Apple
pressured Blah, Blah, Blah. Priceless.
real problem is found, they won't say a word.
Cummon Duke! Let's drag the real culprit through the same mud
that seemed perfectly fine for the innocent. It still smells of Apple
and Lacrosse players.
duke. There is a simple solution. Duke made a statement in
error, got burned for it and now they don't want to repeat the
experience.
The only reason apple is involved is that it was their device on
the chopping block. Now, if you add to the fact that Cisco is
backing the statement and Apple really can't bully Cisco........
your theory falls apart.
And I wish everyone would stop trying to link this to the
Lacrosse case. These are two totally different situations with
two totally different outcomes. Linking them is like comparing
lemons and oranges. Beyond the basics of them both being
citrus fruits, there is not a whole lot of similarity.
But by blaming the iPhone they propelled their problems onto the front page. Not the smartest thing to do until you are 101% certain you know what you are saying.
on the company. Why did Apple run to the aid of the idiot Duke
IT team... when some one is lambasting you on a national scene
pointing fingers at you for your industry changing new widget...
hmm... why would they try to fix the problem?
I just loved the Fox News report, blaming the guy who was
running in a lightning storm for wearing an iPod and it was
because of the iPod, that he was seriously hurt, and the earbuds
were to blame for 100 gajillion amps of power running thru his
skull and how his ears are now permanently damaged. Not that
he was stupid enough to run in a lighting storm, but he was
jogging with an iPod was the total reason of his misfortune. For
Christ sake, HE WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING!!!! The Fox reporter
actually said, "Wow, I will never wear an iPod again, You just
never know when a lightning storm can appear out of the
blue!!!" When maybe a correct, non lawsuit for defamation
comment could have been, "Wow, I will never jog in a Lightning
storm again." People need to start taking responsibility for their
own actions and stop blaming others or products for their own
stupidity. Case in point, McDonalds getting sued for a spilled
hot cup of coffee.
- Dumb, Dumber, and Stupid
- by Thomas, David July 23, 2007 12:03 AM PDT
- That is what most of the comments are so far. Many of us, with
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
(30 Comments)a little bit of experience, previously noted that problem had to
be with the network. As it turns out, that is the case. I
mentioned before, that even the most experienced people will
tend to see "ghosts in the machine", after having been immersed
in a problem for too long.
In response to the people that somehow someone could use the
information to create a "doomsday" scenario for a network if the
information is released ... the ONLY thing you can accomplish by
NOT explaining what happened is to GUARANTEE that it will
happen to someone else. This lesson is taught throughout ALL
facets of life since the beginning of recorded history.
In response to the people that there was a problem because
there were iPhones, I suggest you go back to your job of looking
for WMDs in Iraq.
Its a college folks. It is where you learn. You cannot truly learn
anything without making mistakes. A big fat public pie in the
face, may be pretty harsh, but it is a lesson that will not be soon
forgotten.