| The Linkup | |
| Screenshot Size: | 250px |
| Developer: | Streamload |
| Operating System: | Any (Web-based application) |
| Genre: | Web productivity tools |
| License: | Proprietary |
| Website: | thelinkup.com |
The Linkup (formerly MediaMax), a spin-off from Streamload (now Nirvanix), was a "social network for file sharing" and a service that let users send, receive, and store large amounts of data via the web.[1] It was one of the first Internet based storage services (winning numerous awards) and is now one of the largest failures resulting in user data loss.[2] [3]
On June 15, 2007 a system administrator's script accidentally misidentified and deleted "good data" along with the "dead data" of some 3.5 million former user accounts and files. It took until October 2007 to complete a partial restore of the data (much of it being irretrievably lost).[4]
The Linkup finally experienced a "meltdown" on July 10, 2008 which left about 20,000 paying subscribers without their digital music, video, and photo files from August 8, 2008.[4] In the site's place is a message saying We're sorry, but MediaMax and The Linkup are now closed. with an affiliate link to competitor Box.net.