Category: Television

Youtube Outage Weakens Trust

Lorin Olsen
Youtube Outage Damages Trust
Youtube Outage

Why do we trust cloud services? That’s simple: We trust cloud service providers because we don’t trust ourselves to build and manage computer services – and we desperately want the new and innovative services that cloud providers are offering. But trust is a fleeting thing. Steve Wozniak may have said it best when he said, “Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window.” Yet how much of our lives is now based upon trusting key services to distant providers? Last night confirmed this reality for many people; the great Youtube outage of October 16 may have diminished the trust that many people had in cloud services.

A Quiet Evening…

It was chilly last evening. After all, it is October and we do live in Chicago. So neither Cindy nor I were surprised. Because it is becoming cold, we are starting to put on our more sedentary habits. Specifically, we have been having soups and chili. And last night, we had brats in marinara sauce. After dinner, we settled down to watch a little television. Cindy was going to watch “This Is Us” while I wanted to catch up on “Arrow”.

Everything was going serenely.

It had not been so the previous evening. We were having some trouble with one of the new Roku enhanced remotes. These devices use WiFi Direct rather than IR. And my specialized WiFi configuration was causing trouble for the remote. It was nothing serious. But I like things solved. So I spent  six (6) hours working on a new RF implementation for my router. [Note: At 0130CST, I abandoned that effort and went back to my ‘last known good’ state on the router.]

…gone terribly wrong!

Yesterday morning brought a new day. I had solved the problems that I had created on Monday evening. Now, everything was working well – until the television stopped working. While I was watching “Arrow” and Cindy was watching “This Is Us”, I started getting errors in the YoutubeTV stream. Then I heard my wife ask the dreaded question: “Is there something wrong with the television?”  And my simple response was, “I’ll check.”

At first, I thought that it might have been the new ISP hookup. It wasn’t. Then I wondered if it was something inside the house. Therefore, I started a Plex session on the Roku so that Cindy could watch “Ant-man and the Wasp” while I dug deeper. Of course, that worked well. So I knew that there must have been a different problem occurring.  I wondered if YoutubeTV was the problem? So I tried it while disconnected from our network (i.e., on my phone which is on the T-Mobile network).  When that didn’t work, I knew that we were part of a larger problem. My disappointment grew because we had just switched from cable TV to streaming YoutubeTV. But it was Google. So I figured it would be solved quickly.

I decided to catch up on a few Youtube channels that I follow. And I couldn’t reach them either. My disappointment grew into astonishment: could Google be having such a widespread problem? Since I had network  connectivity, I searched DuckDuckGo and found many links to the outage. And we just happened to use all of the affected services (i.e., Youtube and YoutubeTV). My wife was happy to watch the movie. And I was happy to move onto something else – like Home Assistant.

And Then The Youtube Outage Occurred

As I started to think about this outage, I wondered what might have caused it. And I mentally recited operations protocols that I would use to find the root cause and to implement irreversible corrective actions. But those steps were currently being taken by Google staff. So I focused on what this might mean to end users (like myself). What will I do with this info? First, I can no longer assume that “Google couldn’t be the problem.” In one stroke, years of trust were wiped away. And with the same stroke, days of trust in the YoutubeTV platform were discarded. Unfortunately, Google will be the first thing I check when I go through my problem-solving protocols. 

Eventually, I will rebuild that lost trust – if Google is transparent in their communications concerning the Youtube outage. Once I learn what really happened, I can let time heal the trust divide. But if Google is not transparent, then distrust will become mistrust. Here’s hoping that Google doesn’t hide it’s troubles. In the meantime, their customers should demand that Google fully explain what happened.

A Very Samsung Summer

Lorin Olsen

It’s been a Samsung kind of month here at the castle. First it was the Galaxy Tab. Then we added a Samsung refrigerator. Finally, we ended up buying a second Samsung TV.
Why did we need another TV? Well, our second daughter has started a job in Chanute, Kansas as an assistant basketball coach. She is having a wonderful start to the new school year. But she is obviously moving out of our house and into her own apartment. That is great. We are so proud of her.
But there are two challenges (one practical and one emotional) that this transition brings. The practical challenge is that Dana needed a TV. Cindy and I had talked about putting an LED/LCD screen in our bedroom (to replace a seven-year old tube system). Since there needed to be a +1 purchase somewhere, we chose to give our daughter the older system so we could buy a new system.
The device we chose was a 40″ LED/LCD panel from Samsung. We already had a huge Samsung TV in our main living room. And we have loved that device. So buying another Samsung TV was a natural next step. And this time, I made sure that it would work with the DLNA infrastructure that is now throughout the house.
After getting the TV set up yesterday, I’ve been setting up a robust DLNA complex using Twonky Media. I have used Twonky in the past (with my Western Digital external hard drive). So I just bought and installed the full product on my media PC. Once I set the server up properly, I have been able to stream stuff stored anywhere in the house. And since I’ve stored all my favorite movies in digital form, it is stunningly simple to pull up any of my favorite movies either on the TV, the tablet or my mobile phone.
That took care of the first challenge. The second challenge won’t be as easy to address. Now that Dana is setting up her own apartment, she rightfully wants her own daughter to be with her. I love Dana’s sense of responsibility – and her devotion to Jayden. But it means that Jayden will no longer be living here with Cindy and I. So while we are proud of Dana, I am so terribly saddened that I won’t be seeing Jayden’s beautiful smile or hear her infectious laugh each and every day. I can only imagine the loneliness and loss that Dana felt while she was separated from her daughter for the past two years.
I don’t think that we can solve the second challenge by buying anything or by performing some kind of technical configuration. This one can only be solved with time and with the comforting knowledge that Jayden (and Dana) are starting off on a new and exciting journey – and we will always be along to help and to share in both the burdens and the joy.
-Roo

Pirates and Sirens and Children – Oh My!

Lorin Olsen

Last week’s episode of “Doctor Who” was a fun little romp. It featured a few very cool hat tips to one of my favorite themes: pirates.  The Doctor, Amy, Rory and the Tardis land on a pirate vessel that has been “becalmed” and is beset by a vengeful siren. So this episode is a classic Doctor Who: a unique historical setting (including swordplay and a cute girl in pirate garb), a classic myth that is finally revealed, and an important moral.
Today’s moral is simple: don’t fear the unknown (a classic Doctor Who theme).  The very thing that is an ominous bogeyman can also be a beautiful blessing.  In this case, a siren can be a very effective holographic doctor.
But the classic moral and the stirring pirate motif aren’t enough to save this story.  Yes, it’s a fun episode.  And I’m sure that it is moving the season story forward – at least a little bit.  And you have to like the fact that a group of seventeenth-century pirates get a cool new pirate ship.
Unfortunately, there are a few things about this episode that just drag on.  The ending scene with the pregnancy scan vacillating between between pregnant and not pregnant is so contrived.  And the reminders of the Doctor’s “impending doom” are curious, but not compelling.  Finally, the underlying question of “who does Amy love” is never really advanced any further.
At least one thing is emerging clearly: every story has a key child in it.  First there was the child in the astronaut suit.  And this episode brings us the captain’s son.  Similarly, we can all see the importance of the Amy/Rory child-to-be (if he/she ever happens).  Who knows where this arc will end.  But I’m looking forward to each new episode.
-Roo

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Only British TV Could Do This

Lorin Olsen

Television programming in the US can be very innovative.  But sometimes, domestic issues can only be discussed in foreign media.  And so Steven Moffat (a writer for “Doctor Who”) chose to include President Richard M. Nixon in two episodes of the series.  When I watched these episodes, I marveled at the fun (and the respect) that Steven Moffat showed to this former President.
Here in the United States, very few people even talk about Richard Nixon.  Yes, he is discussed in history texts.  But I can’t think of a single time that I or my contemporaries have included this President in our discussions.  He is either reviled or simply ignored in America.  I know of no one who is kind, gracious or even the least bit deferential towards this man.
But a Scottish writer of a Welsh production company dared to make President Nixon a featured character in two episodes of their flagship series.  And they did a really fine job of it as well.  The character (as written by Moffat) was a reasonable representation of a man who was being swept away by an extraordinary situation.  And Moffat decided to go a step further: this characterization of Nixon dealt with aliens. And this version of President Nixon is now a “companion” of the Doctor.  I NEVER would have imagined Nixon as a companion.  But there he was.
The story was a middle-of-the-road Doctor Who narrative about aliens and the Doctor’s love for humanity.  It had the typical forward references to whatever the culminating episode will be this year.  And it had the obligatory Steven Moffat fascination with silence as a conduit for fear.  [Note: I really like this theme being woven in many Moffat stories. But I really wonder why Moffat has such a fascination.]
But I am not a TV critic.  I am a Doctor Who fan and I am a student of history.  For me, I find it exhilarating that people are talking about Nixon after all these years.  And they are talking about him as a man – not as a humiliated President.  I love the “in jokes” about tape recording things.  And I really like the implied (but never stated) consideration of the missing minutes of audio tape.
Bottom line: This was a respectful and innovative consideration of Richard Nixon, the man.  Unfortunately, it was only an average Doctor Who episode.
-Roo

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