When computers go wrong

“When computers go wrong, they often go spectacularly wrong.

“In most cases, catastrophic failures are blamed on “computer
bugs”, although human error is normally the root cause for
embarrassing failures.

“No-one really knows where the term “bug” comes from. Some say
it dates back to Thomas Edison’s pioneering work in the 19th
century; others claim it refers to a moth that was evicted from the
computer of one Grace Murray Hopper at Harvard University in 1947.
What we do know is that bugs can make a mess of the best-laid
plans.

“Here, we look at ten IT disasters that highlight the
precariously fickle nature of computers. Although our top ten
mistakes may have caused lasting damage to the finances or
reputations of those involved, nobody was physically harmed in the
making of this list.”

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