Category: News

It seems the Gmail service went down today. And in response to a request for an explanation about the problem, Google sent the following statement to InternetNews.com:

Since about 2 p.m. Pacific Time today, many Gmail users have
been unable to access their email. We are very sorry for this
interruption in service. The issue is being caused by a temporary
outage in the contacts system used by Gmail, which is preventing Gmail
from loading properly. We are starting to roll out a fix now and hope
to have the problem resolved as quickly as possible. Even though you
may not be able to get to your inbox right now, your mail is safe,
including new incoming messages.

The point: All systems go down at one point or another.

Mozilla has finally set a date for the official launch of Firefox 3, which open sourcers hope will set a world record for most ever downloads in a day.

Firefox 3.0 will be ready for download next Tuesday, June 17. But the big day, dubbed Download Day, could be delayed if a serious bug is uncovered at the last minute. The browser claims to be quicker, more stable, and a lot easier to set bookmarks.

Mozilla hopes to get at least 1.6 million downloads within 24 hours and set a new Guinness world record. It hopes Firefox fans will organize parties and get people to sign pledges to download the browser. Mozilla claims to have received over 40,000 pledges from the UK and more than 180,000 from the US.

Release Candidates of the software have been tested over the last few weeks.

Firefox accounts for some 20 to 30 percent of browser market share, depending on whose figures you believe. It is the most popular of the alternative browsers – those that are not pre-installed on PCs.

There’s more on the record attempt here.