servers news stories on Newser

Amazon Server Screw-Up Takes Down Dozens of Sites

Kevin Spak — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 09:46:05 CDT

Dozens of sites across the Internet went dark yesterday, thanks to a major Amazon.com server crash that has now stretched beyond 24 hours and is still causing trouble for some. Amazon's own storefront is fine, but the company also rents out server space to lots of other major sites,...

How to Treat Your Waitress

John Johnson — Wed, 12 May 2010 20:06:23 CDT

Dining out anytime soon? True/Slant blogger (and former waitress) Susannah Breslin has a little advice on how to treat your server. Check out the full list here . A sampling: Eye contact: Too many people treat servers like they’re invisible. Don't be one of them. “Look your server in the eye....

Pub's Bad Service Leads to Arrest—of Irate Patrons

Harry Kimball — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:14:49 CST

Turns out that mandatory 18% gratuity for large parties at restaurants is mandatory enough that skipping it can get you arrested. A Philadelphia-area couple who found service at a pub was so scarce they essentially waited on themselves and their six friends ended up in cuffs when they refused to...

100 No-Nos Insulting to Waiters

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:37:30 CST

Along with the rest of the world—or at least, frequenters of the New York Times website—Lauren Bans read restaurateur Bruce Buschel’s recent “100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do.” And the former waiter is pretty annoyed. “No minimum wage job should ever require a list of 100 Don’ts,...

Biggest Restaurant No-Nos, Part 2

Harry Kimball — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:30:32 CST

Bruce Buschel isn't out of touch. "I realize that every deli needs a wisecracking waiter," he writes in the New York Times , "and burgers always taste better when delivered by a server with tattoos and tongue piercing(s)." But at his soon-to-open restaurant, these rules (coupled with last week's) are set...

The Biggest Restaurant No-Nos

M. Morris — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:30:15 CDT

The seafood restaurant Bruce Buschel is building will have excellent service—or else. Some staff members, he acknowledges, "will no doubt protest some or most of what follows," but he's the boss, and he presents 50 rules in his New York Times blog. A tasting menu: "Do not take an...

Here's a Tip: Despite Recession, Gratuities Grow

Rob Quinn — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:53:52 CDT

A diner who leaves a 10% tip these days is likely a tightwad, a tourist, or a victim of terrible service, but that same 10% tip would have been perfectly acceptable in the '50s. The going rate for gratuities has steadily crept up over the decades, studies find, hitting 15%...

Crucial White House Emails Remain Lost

Katherine Thompson — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:57:40 CDT

White House emails from March-September 2003—the first few months of the Iraq invasion—still have not been found, the Washington Post reports. An advocacy group is suing for the release of the emails, and federal law requires such high-level communications be preserved. Officials, still searching, say the data might...

HP Earnings Spike 28%

Nick McMaster — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:37:08 CST

Computer and printer giant Hewlett-Packard rode strong server, software, and PC sales to a 28% boost in fourth quarter earnings from a year ago, CNN Money reports. The company posted a net profit of $2.2 billion, with a share price of 81 cents, up from 60 cents a year...