• According to news reports in April of 2004, a software bug was determined to be a   major contributor to the 2003 Northeast blackout, the worst power system failure in North American history. The failure involved loss of electrical power to 50 million customers, forced shutdown of 100 power plants, and economic losses estimated at $6 billion. The bug was reportedly in one utility company's vendor-supplied power monitoring and management system, which was unable to correctly handle and report on an unusual confluence of initially localized events. The error was found and corrected after examining millions of lines of code.
  • In April of 2003 it was announced that the largest student loan company in the U.S. made a software error in calculating the monthly payments on 800,000 loans. Although borrowers were to be notified of an increase in their required payments, the company will still reportedly lose $8 million in interest. The error was uncovered when borrowers began reporting inconsistencies in their bills.
posted on Friday, May 28, 2004 6:38 AM
Filed Under [ QA ]
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
posted by sufine
on 3/23/2005 7:06 AM
Hi, Do you have more information regarding the article on 2003 Northeast blackout or on the student loan company in the U.S. making a software error in calculating loan.I need to find out what the problem was, the solution and how it could have been prevented for an assaignment. Please email me at, sufine2000@hotmail.com thanks
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
posted by chetan
on 8/14/2007 8:28 PM
hi i am student and i have assignment on lost in companys due to software fail. so can you some data like this student loan problem you mention here.
thank you
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
posted by Manjula
on 12/11/2007 11:38 PM
According to newspaper stories in July and August of 2001, a major systems development contractor was fired and sued over problems with a large retirement plan management system. According to the reports, the client claimed that system deliveries were late, the software had excessive defects, and caused other systems to crash.
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# Why software testing is necessary
posted by prakash
on 3/5/2008 3:08 AM
software testing is needed to determine whether the specified software product meets the customer requirements and satsifies the customer needs for which it has been made.
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
posted by free ebook
on 5/1/2009 5:03 AM
I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 5/21/2009 6:23 PM
Will it be possible to recover the data used in such a power crisis. The power crisis was telecasting on almost all the TV channels across the globe. Hope it won't happen in the future, cause it would effect and ruin the lives of the millions.
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 8/18/2009 3:33 AM
President Bush at that time came on TV to congratulate the people for the way they faced the disaster and assured them of all federal help to their state and local governments
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 9/22/2009 1:51 AM
There are many ways to measure quality before and after software is released. For commercial and internal-use-only products, the most important measurement is the user’s perception of product quality. Unfortunately, perception is difficult to measure, so companies attempt to quantify it through customer satisfaction surveys and failure/behavioral data collected from its customer base.
Tips and Advice about your computer
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 9/23/2009 2:10 AM
No such thing as error free code, but you should have redundancy built in when things fail - like backup servers, backing up data etc.
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 9/28/2009 3:13 AM
Every developer/programmer knows bugs will occur - it's just having a system in place to track bugs and fix them as soon as possible. Obviously this example shows how catastrophic a single bug can be, but sadly they are inevitable.
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 10/7/2009 9:26 AM
really didnt know this could have been a factor in the blackout, brillliant read, many thanks. top blogger!
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 10/12/2009 10:47 AM
Very interesting read, they really keep these things quiet!
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 10/13/2009 6:29 AM
Nice post to this article.It looks so impressive and informative blog.
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 10/26/2009 8:49 AM
Really enjoyed reading through your blog, please keep posting similar stuff! Waiting for new Blogs, thankyou.
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
posted by Escorts London
on 11/16/2009 1:45 AM
Where, after all, can you find a man willing to fearlessly ridicule autistic kids and show the moral fiber it takes to make fun of the defenseless and the disabled? Others may hide behind such gutless concepts as compassion, empathy, and – YUCK!! – love, but at least Mike wasn’t afraid to be proudly and shamelessly cruel.
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
posted by Myspace Friends
on 12/1/2009 3:02 PM
Usually I do not post on articles, but I would like to say that this blog really forced me to do so! Thanks, really nice article.
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
posted by HealthyWizard
on 12/7/2009 8:11 AM
Brilliant read, you've conveyed this point very well.
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 12/9/2009 9:53 AM
This is a great site, very handy, just what i was looking for, keep up the good work, many thanks!
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
posted by Artistic Guide
on 12/30/2009 6:07 AM
This is a great site, thanks
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 12/30/2009 6:47 AM
Great info
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
posted by paymenthelpline
on 1/13/2010 7:45 AM
Enjoyed your site, will visit you again keep on posting new stuff, thanks alot : )
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
posted by Minidiscs
on 1/13/2010 9:44 AM
This has helped me no end, thanks!
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 1/21/2010 9:08 AM
Really enjoyed browsing your site, will visit you again keep on posting new stuff, thanks alot.
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 2/2/2010 12:37 PM
Very good site
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 3/11/2010 5:44 AM
I'm sure that they did everything they could in advance to try and prevent any software bugs, but it's still a shame that these slip through and can cause so much damage.
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
posted by heritage grant
on 3/16/2010 11:45 AM
Cool site.
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 4/8/2010 8:41 AM
i happened to find my way on here and found it an interesting read, like all system failures, they can be sortd but its the distruction it causes in the mean time that is the pain, we all love the microchip and tecnoloty but we can just as easily hate it too! does anyone agree??
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# re: Recent major computer system failures caused by software bug - Maybe QA is important after all...
on 9/7/2010 4:11 AM
tHE bRITISH gOVERNMENT HAVE JUST HAD A SOFTWAR PROBLEM WITH THEIR PAYE SYSTEM, BASICALLY AFFECTING OVER 6 MILLION PEOPLE WHO WILL BE MADE TO PAY £100 PER MONTH BACK, WHICH IS MORE THAN THE ORIGINAL ERROR WHICH WAS ONLY TAKING £40
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# Cure Cataract without Cataract Surgery
posted by derek
on 12/29/2010 12:12 AM
Isotine, as an ayurvedic eye drop has also been found to be very effective in improving eyesight in postoperative cases of Cataract, Laser & Lasic Laser.isotine Cure Cataract without Cataract Surgery.

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