Microsoft begins restoring Sidekick users' contacts

Microsoft has started restoring some of T-Mobile USA Sidekick users' contact information following a server failure that left some users without any of their personal data. However, the company said that it is still working on restoring other data, including photos, notes and to-do lists.

On a T-Mobile USA support forum (where much of the information regarding the issue has been released), the company outlined a seven-step how-to feature that it said will allow Sidekick users to regain their lost personal contacts. 

Last week, Microsoft said it believed that the data loss affected a minority of Sidekick users, though it didn't provide a specific number. Additionally, Microsoft said it had determined that the outage was caused by "a system failure that created data loss in the core database and the back-up." In the wake of the debacle, T-Mobile said that in addition to crediting customers who had Sidekick data plans with a free month of data services, it would give a $100 credit to customers who experienced a "significant and permanent" loss of data.

Interestingly, the issue has sparked concerns from top executives at the companies involved. Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer described the fiasco as "not good," and said that Microsoft would have to convince its other cloud computing customers that their data is in fact safe. Microsoft is currently adding cloud functions to its SharePoint offering in a bid to entice enterprise users. Ballmer made sure to point out that the Sidekick problems arose from technologies Microsoft acquired through its purchase of Danger, and did not represent the company's internally developed cloud offerings.

For more:
- see this Network World article [1]
- see this AP article [2]
- see this T-Mobile forum post [3]
- see this T-Mobile how-to forum post [4]

Related Articles:
Microsoft: We have recovered most T-Mobile Sidekick data [5]
T-Mobile USA hopeful about recovering users' Sidekick data [6]
T-Mobile, Microsoft 'almost certainly' destroyed users' Sidekick data [7]
Microsoft snaps up Danger [8]