Hi @steemhelper,
It works fine for me, however any server can be slow at peak times.
The posting issue had happened to other people too before. There was a big commotion a few weeks ago. I thought it has been completely resolved by now. Using backups is the only safe solution.
I am also not sure why sometimes it takes so long to get verification from Steem. This is also a common complain on Steemit. My account was approved after 4 days! I guess, I was lucky.
thanks for your reply, good to know!