Don't know if this killed anyone but sure crippled them.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/05/25/MN309974.DTL
Defective software combined with bad management. That said I don't think
professional licensing will do anything to help anymore then sysadmin
certifications guarantee quality sysadmins. Just means they are good at
taking tests.
Cheers,
Davidm
On Sun, 2003-05-25 at 11:02, Vaughn Treude wrote:
> George
>
> Actually, I think that faulty software HAS killed people. I've heard of at
> least one case (possiblly two) in which X-ray-like machines malfunctioned due
> to software and a few patients were give overdoses, which I think was fatal
> in some cases. I also heard that the company was not sued because of their
> EULA. Unfortunately, I don't recall the name of the device or the company or
> the specifics, but I'm pretty sure I read this in an online article. If
> anybody out there has the specifics, let me know. (Or if I later remember
> where I read it, I'll post the link.) Anyway, it's ironic because all
> medically-related software goes through a very stringent certification
> processes with the FDA. Does this mean they were not stringent enough, or
> that, as I like to argue, that the government isn't competent to determine
> issues like medical product safety?
>
> I just don't think professional licensing works. We've all heard the horror
> stories of totally incompetent doctors and lawyers being shielded from public
> scrutiny by the medical boards that were supposed to be disciplining them.
> There was an outcry, and many state agenencies (especially Arizona's
> notoriously inept Board of Medical Examiners) have become much stricter, but
> how long will this last? Private, third-party voluntary certification is a
> better idea. While no system is perfect, this would give the public some
> measure of protection without giving the government power to restrict
> competition or stifle innovation. And I'd bet my last dollar that free
> software would be one of the first things to go under a system that licensed
> software developers.
>
> Vaughn
>
>
> On Sunday 25 May 2003 03:08, you wrote:
> > This is a glimmer of the future, and the source of my rant for wanting
> > software "engineers" (now they call themselves developers) to go through
> > stringent licensing, just like real engineers and architects.
> >
> > We've already seen how a BSOD shutdown a Navy ship's propulsion system.
> > If this were in battle, the results would be horrific.
> >
> > How long will it be before faulty software kills people?
> >
> > George
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David IS Mandala
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