So, Google’s scalable cloud suffered a 6-hour outage the week before last. The Reg had a great article on this, outlining the contrast in strategies between Google (Teh New Ebil) and Amazon (Teh Well-Established Ebil). It’s a bit like trying to figure out which you hate less — swallowing broken glass or trying to do trampoline acts on it.

In any case, what with all this Web 2.0 hoo-ha, every company is trying to get their foot in the door, charging for cloud apps. The problem with cloud apps, though, is that once you tell your clients that the software on their desktops is redunant then — and there’s no telling how unreasonable human beings can get — people expect the software in their clouds to actually be, er, available.

Now, Amazon had a significant outage with its cloud apps last year as well. And it lasted two hours longer than Google’s. But the way it was handled was completely different.

Amazon provided specific details on what bugs led to the crash. Google said:

There was a serious issue in one of the App Engine’s datacenters.

No, really? Amazon highlighted shortcomings in their own code. Google, um, didn’t. Sumfin’ didn’t werk, seems to be about the gist of what they disclosed. As for ensuring similar mistakes don’t happen again, they said the following:

The team has been actively working on a solution in the medium-term that would allow us to switchover data centers immediately without consistency problems.

Can I tell ya something? I don’t even feed that level of bullshit to my customers! And what the hell is “medium-term” supposed to mean anyway? Tomorrow? Next year?

Ted Dziuba says that “the App Engine main product page has a prominent link to the terms of service at the top, and no link or contact information for support.” So I went there to check it out and Ted’s right. In Linux world, choosing “Community” means going to a customer forum where your questions can be answered. In Google world, it means joining the developer community. And while there is a “System Status” link, all it shows is that everything is peachy (or not). Not even a Live Chat link to a bored AI, much less a support email or phone number.

What is the world coming to, I ask, when Amazon — despised, “overpriced for overseas customers”, “gobble everything in its path” Amazon — actually handles a situation better than “don’t ask us about our algorithms”, “oh everything is opt-out didncha know?” “do no evil? yeah right” Google? What hope is there for humankind? We’re doomed! Doomed, I tell you. If you want me, I’ll be under that off-grid rock over there.

PS The Book Depository is making its move into North America, fronting Amazon on its own turf. I love the Book Depository (they don’t charge shipping anywhere in the world!) and wish them all the best.