Not working properly. The term applies to software as well as hardware. If software is "broken," it means there is a bug in it. It may mean that people are having difficulty using it, because of poor design or cryptic error messages, in which case some parts of all software are "broken." See bug.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Researchers publish details on London travel card hack
- First there was Boston's Charlie card. Now, Dutch researchers have exposed the inherent weakness in the RFID chip used in London's Oyster travel smartcard, ZDNet UK says. Researchers released details at the Esorics security conference in Malaga on Monday and an academic paper PDF...
- Blog posts 2008-10-07
- Forrester fuels the SAP maintenance price hike debate
- The last few days I've been exchanging email with R 'Ray' Wang, VP and principal analyst at Forrester about the kerfuffle over SAP's unilateral decision to apply a price hike to its maintenance and support fees. Ray specializes in the enterprise market and has special experience of SAP going back...
- Blog posts 2008-10-07
- End the spectre of science for sale
- End the spectre of science for saleOr Not[i]He will graduate from high school next spring, an honor student, and cost me a fortune at some elite college.[/i]Depends on what he really wants to study. There are some world-class universities that are also shockingly inexpensive, even for out-of-state students. ...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-03
- Slimming down the bloated iTunes 8 installer
- Slimming down the bloated iTunes 8 installerPerformance?Let alone the installer size, does anyone else out there have kind of mediocre performance with iTunes in Windows Vista? I've had a number of times where it just seems to come up black, or respond slowly, or syncing just slows my PC to...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-03
- Chinese monitoring Tom-Skype messages
- Chinese monitoring Tom-Skype messagescheaper solutionJust get the logs from NSA, or run a joint operation...viztorThe U.S. does the sameIs there really much difference?Zillions of warrentless wiretaps. Deep packet inspection on the backbones.Getting search records from search companies for U.S citizens.U.S. laws broken repeatedly.Who are we to call the kettle...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-02
- 14 ways IT screws up projects
- 14 ways IT screws up projects128k image?The image is 128k in size with 100dpi resolution. Why is that too big even on a dial-up connection? Thanks for your thoughts.# 15 - Play loose and fast with bandwidthAttach needlessly large images to blog posts. Make sure image's size is inversely...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-02
- Apple aims to dismiss Psystar countersuit
- Apple aims to dismiss Psystar countersuitTime will tell.....However knowing Apple I have my doubts about the suits success. Still if they do loose the case there is nothing stopping Apple from switching processors again. So far that tact hasn't hurt business any.Pagan jimTheftThis is an abstraction, you're going...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-01
- Is security really a big drag on innovation?
- Is security really a big drag on innovation?Is a shell a big drag on a tortoise?A lot of companies are a big drag on themselves. We all know what happens when more and more pairs of hands join a company.It's now the age of the S.M.E. We're on another rotation...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-01
- Will notebooks ever replace the desktop PC?
- Will notebooks ever replace the desktop PC?one word noSurely people will say ha i wanna have portability, mobility but when you have to work and mostly repair those toy because they are not computer they are toys ...replace a screen on a laptop if its out of warranty...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-29
- Does HIMSS hate open source?
- Does HIMSS hate open source?Our Health Care System is Broken in So Many Ways.I have no doubts that before our Health Care system is fixed if it ever will be, a million years in life will be lost. What a horrible waste. I would rather not be a...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-27
- The mother of all notebook hard drives: Scorpio Blue
- I'm totally psyched that someone has finally released a 500GB hard drive that fits in my MacBook Pro. That someone is Western Digital. WD just announced its WD5000BEVT mobile hard drive, a.k.a. the Scorpio Blue with a huge 500GB capacity. The 500GB barrier was broken earlier this...
- Blog posts 2008-09-25
- RIAA loses $222K verdict against Jammy Thomas
- RIAA loses $222K verdict against Jammy ThomasHer turn nowI hope she turns around and files a MULTI MILLION dollar suit against the RIAA. If "offering a copyrighted work to the public" is a crime, then we must by definition force the closure of all public libraries. . .This poor...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-25
- Fast, tough pocket storage
- I've owned a couple of dozen flash drives starting back when they were a dollar a megabyte. Several of them have broken - usually when most needed. But I've found a flash drive that not only handles the rigors of my car-keys-and-change pocket, but has also...
- Blog posts 2008-09-23
- T-Mobile G1: Apple shouldn't be scared... yet
- I've had a few hours to absorb the T-Mobile/Google launch event, and I have to say, I think I was expecting more. And if the folks around me in the product evaluation area were a representative sampling, I don't think I'm alone. Don't get me wrong -...
- Blog posts 2008-09-23
- Americans Hate Flying - Consultants Must Really Loathe It
- Americans Hate Flying - Consultants Must Really Loathe ItDelta doesn't seem all that bad......but maybe it's just in comparison with US Airways which held the franchise at the local airport just before them. They'll even let you bring food on the plane, and they have a real live flight...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-23
- How long will Microsoft support XP and Vista?
- How long will Microsoft support XP and Vista?Long Live Windows SupportNot only is the lifecycle well-documented, but nobody supports their products for as long a lifecycle as Microsoft. Microsoft is still supporting Windows 2000, released 8.5 years ago, and Internet Explorer 5.5 on it.Apple supports only the last two OS...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-21
- Microsoft's secrecy gameplan tested as more Win7 screenshots leak
- Microsoft's secrecy gameplan tested as more Win7 screenshots leakMicrosoft blah blah blah, Microsoft blah blah blah...Microsoft should take the advice it gives to its hapless customers: remove all important data and reinstall. This isn't news no fault of yours Mary Jo, this is a broken record... as in vinyl...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-20
- Should Microsoft do an IE 8 'Lite'?
- Should Microsoft do an IE 8 'Lite'?I'm more interested in SilverLightand its release date / improvement as a .Net developer. I don't care how some browser speeds Javascript up 1000 times. Browsers are lipstick, and Javascript is a pig. With RIA such as SilverLight, JavaFX and Flash out there, somebody...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-18
- Léo Apotheker's Leadership Opportunity: SAP At the Crossroads
- Léo Apotheker is slated to take over the helm of SAP this January, and while many have worked with him, broken bread with him, and generally admired his business acumen and very successful career, there's one problem with his ascension to the top executive position in the enterprise software...
- Blog posts 2008-09-18
- Are you suffering from information filter failure?
- Clay Shirky, an author and an instructor at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program, says personal lives are a thing of the past, privacy is an information management problem and life is quickly becoming a systems design issue. Shirky, speaking at the Web 2.0 Expo in New...
- Blog posts 2008-09-18
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