As Dave noted on Friday, we expected to hear more from Duke on the iPhone-killed-our-network story, and we did -- on Friday the university released a statement that identified the problem, now resolved, as "a Cisco-based network issue" which has now been patched. The iPhone has been fully exonerated as a cause or victim of the wireless issue, demonstrating once again that correlation does not necessarily imply causation. Hey, it's not like Cisco's still bitter about the whole iPhone trademark thing, either.It seems that Kevin Miller, with Duke's IT department, jumped the gun a bit last week when he told Network World, with considerable confidence, that the iPhone was at the root of Duke's wireless problems. "I don't believe it's a Cisco problem in any way, shape or form," he said. Oops. Sounds familiar to me... network guys always bristle when someone says "it's a router problem," and the immediate (and often correct) reaction is to blame the newest devices on the LAN. Don't worry, Mr. Miller, we've got the perfect Sysadmin Appreciation Day gift for you: a fruit basket, chock full of Apples.
via Macworld
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-22-2007 @ 4:30PM
fog city dave said...
It's nice to see that Duke has owned up to their mistake and exonerated the iPhone. Unfortunately, eWeek just can't let go of blaming the iPhone for this incident. Their headline still implies the iPhone was part of the problem, and they wrap up their piece by quoting Van Baker as saying, regardless of the factual findings of Duke and Cisco, the iPhone is probably still to blame. Check out their shameful piece here:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2161065,00.asp
And don't be shy, let Paula Musich know what you think about her unbiased reporting:
paula_musich@ziffdavis.com
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7-22-2007 @ 4:53PM
Nate said...
One word: owned
I have been wrong enough times to learn not to play the blame game (at least publicly). That sheepish "whoops" feeling is the worst and it certainly doesn't help one's credibility.
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7-22-2007 @ 6:19PM
Zach said...
False accusations coming out of Duke? Shocking!
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7-22-2007 @ 6:52PM
Aron Trimble said...
I wouldn't have been as bothered by this if it didn't turn out that my Apple stock dropped a few points the day Duke blamed the iPhone... I mean come on! What a way to make headlines... "The iPhone broke our whole network!"
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7-22-2007 @ 11:36PM
Joseph said...
booooooo!
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7-22-2007 @ 11:39PM
Victor Agreda, Jr. said...
The iPhone ate my baby!
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7-23-2007 @ 2:59AM
UncleJoe said...
I agree with #3. Whether it's iPhones or LaCrosse players, this seems to be a Duke thang.
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7-24-2007 @ 2:55PM
John Earnhardt said...
We (Cisco) posted on this issue on our blog this morning...full post can be read here: http://blogs.cisco.com/news/2007/07/cisco_duke_university_and_appl.html
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