Very Computer

I'm a graduate student who is writing a paper on an operating system
failure.  I must identify and discuss a genuine case where a
technological flaw in the OS resulted in loss or complete failure.

Can anyone recommend such a case?  Anyone seen articles on this?

You are posting to the wrong group.  I would recommend
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy :-)

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-Brent

It's not an operating system (as kernel) flaw per se, but a nice, juicy,
well-documented and widespread system vulnerablility was exploited in the
Internet Worm fiasco (c. 1988?).

Best of luck,

marco

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While you are at it, you might want to search for some FACTUAL information
in other than the news groups.  If you want reasonable, public information,
try searching the web sites for:

  PC week
  Information week
  Electronic Engineering Times

There are many other trade publications that could also provide you with
some clues.  Most are owned by CMP, Ziff Davis (ZD) and Meckler.

Most of the information supplied in newsgroups are fictional at best and
an outright fantasy at worst.  Also there are many web sites that just
republish the fiction, thereby making the fiction, "fact".

BTW - ALL (repeat ALL) OSes fail at one time or another due to design
flaws.  There is no way to build a foolproof, fully functional OS.  Even
some of the very simple, real-time, supercritical OSes I have worked with
occasionally blow up.  That's just the way it works.

If you get out of the advocacy groups and go to where the OS designers
reside, they can tell you how to kill any OS.

Have fun,

Jim G.

P.S.  Most companies will never admit they had a problem, so the information
you seek may be hard to get.