A surge in Web traffic overwhelmed Hallmark.com on Monday, frustrating visitors who wished to exchange virtual valentines.
Many people who tried to fetch their Hallmark e-cards on Monday were greeted with an apology rather than sweet nothings.
"Valentine's Day is keeping us extra busy, and that means our store is full right now," the site informed some visitors. "Please try back in a little while."
Hallmark has had trouble delivering its free e-cards on Feb. 14 in the past. Despite hiring IBM to upgrade its systems this year, the company was still plagued by outages.
The fact that the holiday fell on a weekday--when more people tend to be using computers--exacerbated the problem, Hallmark spokeswoman Rachel Bolton said.
"We know how important it is to connect with people on Valentine's Day," Bolton said. "Hallmark is so sorry and so disappointed."
The site was back up and running by Monday afternoon, she added. Bolton said she didn't know how many people tried to send e-cards through the site.
Join the conversation
Comment replyThe posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. Click here to review our Terms of Use.
Chamtech's spray-on antenna uses a nano material to provide a low-power boost to antenna range. The wireless-in-a-can product may some day bring an end to unsightly cell towers.
Whether Apple will release a new iPad next month doesn't seem to be the question as much as what day it will happen. A new rumor has it down to the day.
Tommy Jordan, the man who shot his daughter's laptop for YouTube, gets a visit from police and child protection services. Oh, and Good Morning America.
Along with green-lighting Google's buy of Motorola, the Justice Department today OKs an Apple-Microsoft-RIM partnership deal to buy Nortel patents, and Apple's plan to acquire Novell patents.
EnerG2 opens a plant to make an engineered carbon that will improve performance of energy storage devices and make storage for start-stop hybrid cars less expensive.
"Never Stop Playing" campaign for upcoming portable marks Sony's largest platform launch marketing spend, with ads to reach YouTube, Facebook, TV, and billboards in major cities.
As UC Berkeley students, the co-founders of "Back to the Roots" discovered they could grow mushrooms using recycled coffee grounds. Now their mushroom kit sells at grocery stores across the country.
Join the conversation