Items related to Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Synopsis
An airplane crashes, killing eighty-seven passengers. A cancer patient receives a fatal dose of radiation from a machine designed to be foolproof. The ATMs at a New York bank debit customers twice their actual withdrawals, resulting in a loss of millions of dollars. In every case, the culprit was a computer bug, a software error or design defect that may escape detection until it erupts into the real world with sometimes catastrophic results.
This arresting and at times terrifying book tells us just how prevalent these defects are and how they are multiplying as computers become more sophisticated and more deeply embedded in our daily lives. It is also a riveting portrait of the men and women who find and "exterminate" those bugs, whether they occur in pocket calculators or nuclear reactors.
Fatal Defect reveals what you should know about the computers in our lives. Read it before you buy a computer, use a cash machine, or book an airplane flight. Then pray that one of its real-life heroes was on the job.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
In Fatal Defects: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs, Ivars Peterson describes dozens and dozens of hoary computer bugs and gives biographical sketches of the bug detectives who located and fixed them. This book, which reads like a novel, is both entertaining and informative. Many of the bugs that Peterson discusses are not in computer programs per se but in the human systems that run and operate the computers. Very often the operator fails to understand what the computer program requires as input and types in an incorrect command. The computer then executes the command, with potentially disastrous results. Fatal Defects has important lessons for both those who design computers and those who use them.
From the Back Cover
This arresting and at time terrifying book tells us just how prevalent these defects are and how they are multiplying as computers become more sophisticated and more deeply embedded in our daily lives. It is also a riveting portrait of the men and women who find and 'exterminate' those bugs, whether they occur in pocket calculators or nuclear reactors.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherKnopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Publication date1996
- ISBN 10 0679740279
- ISBN 13 9780679740278
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages288
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 14.82
Shipping:
US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
Fatal Defect Chasing Killer Co
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00052346298
Quantity: 2 available
Stock Image
Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Published by
Vintage (edition Reprint), 1996
ISBN 10: 0679740279
ISBN 13: 9780679740278
Used
Paperback
Seller: BooksRun, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Good. Reprint. Ship within 24hrs. Satisfaction 100% guaranteed. APO/FPO addresses supported. Seller Inventory # 0679740279-11-1
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1996
ISBN 10: 0679740279
ISBN 13: 9780679740278
Used
Paperback
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.86. Seller Inventory # G0679740279I3N10
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1996
ISBN 10: 0679740279
ISBN 13: 9780679740278
Used
Softcover
Seller: Books Unplugged, Amherst, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Buy with confidence! Book is in good condition with minor wear to the pages, binding, and minor marks within 0.86. Seller Inventory # bk0679740279xvz189zvxgdd
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1996
ISBN 10: 0679740279
ISBN 13: 9780679740278
Used
Softcover
Seller: Book Deals, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Fair. Acceptable/Fair condition. Book is worn, but the pages are complete, and the text is legible. Has wear to binding and pages, may be ex-library. 0.86. Seller Inventory # 353-0679740279-acp
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Seller: Book Lover's Warehouse, Johnson City, TN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The pages of this book are clean and unmarked but have some light toning. The cover is bright and clean and the spine remains free of creasing. A good clean copy. FAST SHIPPING & FREE TRACKING!. Seller Inventory # 192084
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1996
ISBN 10: 0679740279
ISBN 13: 9780679740278
Used
Paperback
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR013707619
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1996
ISBN 10: 0679740279
ISBN 13: 9780679740278
Used
Softcover
Seller: GF Books, Inc., Hawthorne, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Book is in Used-VeryGood condition. Pages and cover are clean and intact. Used items may not include supplementary materials such as CDs or access codes. May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain very limited notes and highlighting. 0.86. Seller Inventory # 0679740279-2-3
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1996
ISBN 10: 0679740279
ISBN 13: 9780679740278
New
Softcover
Seller: Lakeside Books, Benton Harbor, MI, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: New. Brand New! Not Overstocks or Low Quality Book Club Editions! Direct From the Publisher! We're not a giant, faceless warehouse organization! We're a small town bookstore that loves books and loves it's customers! Buy from Lakeside Books!. Seller Inventory # OTF-S-9780679740278
Quantity: Over 20 available
Stock Image
Fatal Defect (Paperback)
Published by
Random House USA Inc, New York, 1996
ISBN 10: 0679740279
ISBN 13: 9780679740278
New
Paperback
Seller: Grand Eagle Retail, Wilmington, DE, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. An airplane crashes, killing eighty-seven passengers. A cancer patient receives a fatal dose of radiation from a machine designed to be foolproof. The ATMs at a New York bank debit customers twice their actual withdrawals, resulting in a loss of millions of dollars. In every case, the culprit was a computer bug, a software error or design defect that may escape detection until it erupts into the real world with sometimes catastrophic results.This arresting and at times terrifying book tells us just how prevalent these defects are and how they are multiplying as computers become more sophisticated and more deeply embedded in our daily lives. It is also a riveting portrait of the men and women who find and "exterminate" those bugs, whether they occur in pocket calculators or nuclear reactors.Fatal Defect reveals what you should know about the computers in our lives. Read it before you buy a computer, use a cash machine, or book an airplane flight. Then pray that one of its real-life heroes was on the job. This arresting and at time terrifying book tells us just how prevalent these defects are and how they are multiplying as computers become more sophisticated and more deeply embedded in our daily lives. It is also a riveting portrait of the men and women who find and 'exterminate' those bugs, whether they occur in pocket calculators or nuclear reactors. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780679740278
Quantity: 1 available