Computer Ethics, Summer A 2001, Extra Credit Postings, Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Unreliable Computers and Software

http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/nasa120300.htm: This site shows the plans for the unreliable computer problem. And who are the people behind it.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4592048.html?tag=ch_mh: Users Consider Hotmail Unreliable
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/mt/xml/00/10/02/001002mtfailure.xml: This article talks about software failures and some of their causes.
http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/nasa120300.htm: NASA has a powerful motivation to improve computer dependability. Unreliable computers have proven to be a nightmare for NASA time and time again. They're a costly nuisance when they postpone launches and potentially fatal for astronauts. Software problems have killed two Mars recent missions. This article is directly related to chepter 5 because it explains how dangerous unreliable computers can be, and what can be done to fix the problem.
http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/555343.asp: Software design flaws compounded hydraulic problems led to one of the two fatal crashes last year where a total of 24 Marines lost their lives.
http://www.srmmagazine.com/issues/2000-q4/srm-bussense.html: This is a good article speaking about what it calls "Software Risk Management." It touches on why it is very important to have reliable software in the same way any other aspect of a business is managed. It is related to the chapter in that it mirrors many of the views on how important it is to have software that is reliable and the consequences of not having it. This article is also full of examples that are not found in the book like the Nestle Halloween candy problem.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/04/05/arms.osprey.02/index.html: Software, hydraulics blamed in Osprey crash
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/alpha_computers010426.html: Despite progress in fixing the computers, NASA has postponed the first use of the station's new billion-dollar robotic arm until the problems are resolved. The new arm is supposed to hand a shipping crate to an older robotic arm attached to the space shuttle Endeavour.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/ctg838.htm: This article explains how much damage being done by unreliable computers. This article is directly related to chepter 5 because it explains how dangerous unreliable computers can be.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/cti690.htm: This article talks about problems with radar computer at the LA International Airport. The system failure was the result of a computer software upgrade that was conducted a few days before. This article is closely related to what the chapter 5 is about.
http://www.bcbr.com/may98/geek2.htm: Peter Kent had have many problems with personal computer. His article title "Can you think of anything more unreliable than PC?" tell us the story that how reliable PC is.
http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/11/15/lemon.law.idg/index.html: Here is an article on how a lawyer is leading an effort to get a "lemon law" passed on computer hardware.
http://www.idg.net/crd_idgsearch_300025.html?sc=: An article that states that in many software end user lic agreements, it can without any notice disable your program forcing the buyer to upgrade. It also has a section on how Juno claims the right to use its customers' computers during their downtime to run its own "Computational Software."
http://www.informationweek.com/838/quality.htm: Vendors publicly taken to task for defective code. Study shows in US software bugs responsible for 45% of downtime and $100 billion in lost productivity and repairs
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/pentagon_spending010322.html: The Defense Department installed the system to automate purchases and eliminate possible fraud by human buyers. But the computer never checked more than one vendor to get the best price.
http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/10.28.html#subj2: In this article, the authors argue that digital computers are inherently unreliable for two reasons: first, they are prone to total rather than partial failure; and second, their enormous complexity means that they can never be thoroughly tested before use. The authors then describe various institutional attempts to improve reliability and possible solutions proposed by computer scientists, but they conclude that as yet none is adequate. Accordingly, they recommend that computers should not be used in life-critical applications.
http://www-crc.stanford.edu/projects/argos.html: In complex system, there is impossible to test every possible state however testing is very important to create software more reliable. The goal of this proyect was to collect as many in-flight transient errors as possible, exercise different error detection techniques and finally come up with an efficient blend of techniques suitable for space applications.
http://edition.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/04/25/shuttle.spacestation.02/: The following article is about a computer glitch that caused a delay in the testing of a NASA project. The computer server aboard the space station went down and NASA had to eventually abort the mission.
http://www.larrysworld.com/articles%5Cunreliable.htm: PCs Are Too Unreliable: Why Can't They Make It Like a Fridge? The computer industry has its priorities backward. Every few months Intel comes up with a new chip that makes computers faster, more powerful and more versatile. Microsoft follows swiftly with new operating-system and application programs that suck up the power of those new chips. The result is new generations of machines that run about as slow as the old ones.
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:Hct-0ka2_nE:uk.news.yahoo.com/010426/117/bnfem.html: Unreliable computers on the International Space Station. Points out how even NASA has problems with unreliable computers
http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2418/CWD010402STO59083/: We should learn a lesson from India, before we become totally dependant on them for Good Reliable Software
http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/nasa120300.htm: This site shows the plans for the unreliable computer problem. And who are the people behind it.