Blocker Description
A row can have multiple cells, and each cell can have a different timestamp. The get command in the shell demonstrates that cells are being stored with different timestamps:
hbase(main):008:0> get 'table1', 'row2' COLUMN CELL fam1:letters timestamp=1215707612949, value=def fam1:numbers timestamp=1215707629064, value=123 fam2:letters timestamp=1215711498969, value=abc 3 row(s) in 0.0100 seconds
However, using the scanners to retrieve these cells shows that they all have the same timestamp:
hbase(main):009:0> scan 'table1'
ROW COLUMN+CELL
row2 column=fam1:letters, timestamp=1215711498969, value=def
row2 column=fam1:numbers, timestamp=1215711498969, value=123
row2 column=fam2:letters, timestamp=1215711498969, value=abc
3 row(s) in 0.0600 seconds
The scanners are losing timestamp information somewhere along the line.