Fallout

Following a rather frantic launch day, with both Farnell and RS Components DDOSed out of existence, a void was left without the official forums.  Following a few other forums and tweets the general mood was positive - a few grievances were aired, but for the most part this was directed towards Farnell and RS Components.

Both distribution companies made a few desperate attempts to cover up the mess they made on the day, touting massive increases in load.  Both suggested a 300% increase in traffic.  Farnell references a 15-minute period where they received 500,000 hits regarding the Pi.  RS tweeted this fun little graph:


Once the official forums were back online everyone started to pour out their stories, and there seemed to be a common theme.  Farnell continued to process orders, although the delivery dates fluctuated wildly, and was often changed and pushed back several times after the initial order was confirmed.  RS Components limped along, trying to keep up, still not taking any actual orders - just "registrations of interest".  Starting on Thursday evening they started sending out emails confirming registration, stating that unites would be able to be purchased in a week or so, on a first-registered-first-served basis, although as of Sunday 4th there were still a large number of people that had successfully registered early on Wednesday, but had not yet received a confirmation.

As it stands, I'm sitting pretty.  I have a Farnell order with an expected delivery date of 12th March and an RS Component confirmation email following a damn-early registration (06:03 I'd say, although it's all a little vague).  Then again, I'll follow the mantra being chanted on the forums - wait until it's in my hands before I count on anything!