Danger, the company that makes and operates the Sidekick data service, experienced intermittent data problems last week that appear to be the result of a faulty-systems upgrade.
On Saturday, T-Mobile and Microsoft (which owns Danger) issued a statement informing customers that all data not on the local device is almost certainly lost. This includes contacts, calendars and pictures.
The data-disaster has also raised lots of questions about the data security of cloud computing. After all, if a company as large as Microsoft could lose so much important data, what does that say about smaller firms and solutions? T-Mobile says it will release a more concrete statement later today on the causes and potential options for Sidekick customers.
In the meantime, if you have a Sidekick with data that is not backed up elsewhere, be sure not to reset your device or run-down the battery until a new solution for saving your data is implemented.