Items related to Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Synopsis
More than ever, our society depends on the reliable - if not always correct - functioning of computers. Computers amplify not only our genius but our flaws, sometimes to intolerable extremes. Author Ivars Peterson traces the lurching history of software development and describes how misconceptions and mistakes have become an inextricable part of computer programs and systems. He creates fascinating and colorful profiles of the people who hunt down these elusive computer bugs and struggle to make an inherently fallible system less treacherous. He also offers dozens of detailed examples of how computer failures occur - some amusing, some annoying, others terrifying, even fatal.
Each computer failure is a reminder that we all pay a price for sloppy thinking in software development, for making the rush to market a more important consideration than safety and reliability. No software can ever be guaranteed 100 percent bug-free, but if we analyze our past mistakes and rethink our approach to computers, we can defuse some ticking time bombs and create a more trustworthy next generation of computers.
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Product Description
Fatal Defect:: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
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 this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Seller: World of Books (was SecondSale), Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardback. Condition: Good. 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. Seller Inventory # 00101412167
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Fatal Defect:: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0812920236I4N00
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Fatal Defect:: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Seller: A.C. Daniel's Collectable Books, South Paris, ME, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. nice hardcover first edition only minor wear seen. Seller Inventory # 005291
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Fatal Defect : Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Published by
Crown Publishing Group, The, 1995
ISBN 10: 0812920236
ISBN 13: 9780812920239
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Fine. Used book that is in almost brand-new condition. May contain a remainder mark. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 56256423-6
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Fatal Defect:: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Seller: Bay State Book Company, North Smithfield, RI, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: very_good. Seller Inventory # BSM.17LVJ
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Fatal Defect:: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Seller: Book Alley, Pasadena, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: good. A very good hardcover in a good dust jacket. No markings. Seller Inventory # mon0000679888
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Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Published by
TIMES BOOKS, Westminister, Maryland, U.S.A., 1995
ISBN 10: 0812920236
ISBN 13: 9780812920239
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Gene The Book Peddler, Winchester, NH, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. first edition/second printing book is tight with no markings, dj has minor rubbing. Seller Inventory # 012340
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Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Published by
Times Books, Random House, New York, 1995
ISBN 10: 0812920236
ISBN 13: 9780812920239
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Hardcover
Seller: Kenneth A. Himber, Lebanon, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Almost Like New. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good +. First Edition, First Printing. Book is a clean tight unmarked copy. Seller Inventory # 002995
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Fatal Defect:: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Seller: Old Village Books, Mt. Pleasant, SC, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Very clean book. Pictures on request. Seller Inventory # 032066
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Fatal Defect:: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs
Published by
Crown, New York, 1995
ISBN 10: 0812920236
ISBN 13: 9780812920239
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: All-Ways Fiction, DAYTON, NV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First Edition. First edition, First printing. Book is in Near Fine condition. Boards are clean, not bumped. Fore edges have the tiniest bit of shelf wear. Interior is clean and legible. Not remaindered. Dust Jacket is in Near Fine condition. Not chipped or crinkled. Not price clipped. Dust Jacket is covered by Mylar Brodart. Thanks and Enjoy. All-ways well boxed, All-ways fast service. Thanks. Book. Seller Inventory # 035747