Fatal Defect
Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
$32.57
- Paperback
288 pages
- Release Date
21 June 1996
Summary
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 boo…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780679740278 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0679740279 |
| Author: | Ivars Peterson |
| Publisher: | Random House USA Inc |
| Imprint: | Ballantine Books Inc. |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 288 |
| Release Date: | 21 June 1996 |
| Weight: | 346g |
| Dimensions: | 216mm x 140mm x 16mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
“The book is both amusing and a quite serious argument for never assuming computers are flawless.”
– San Diego Union-Tribune”Peterson’s book is an entertaining introduction to the problems of creating reliable computer systems.”
– Christian Science Monitor
About The Author
Ivars Peterson
IVARS PETERSON is an award-winning mathematics writer known for his popular books The Jungles of Randomness, The Mathematical Tourist, and Islands of Truth. He also writes about mathematics for Science News and Muse magazines.
NANCY HENDERSON is a freelance writer and editor whose articles have appeared in New Scientist, Science and Children, U.S. News & World Report, the Washington Post, and many other publications.
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