Xerox on EBT issue: "power outage during a routine maintenance test caused the temporary glitch" BS!

[dballance]

Does anybody really believe that bullshit? In all my 30+ years in IT I've never seen a power outage cause a software glitch. Was this power outage on the UPS systems? Those do happen. UPS's are machines and they do fail - rarely.

Power outages either take down the machines or perhaps cause spikes but those should be filtered out be any UPS unless it's the UPS that has the issue. But that would typically mean a sudden, unexpected power-down of the computers. Not modification of software code allowing unlimited purchases.

I'm not sure what PR flacky at Xerox came up with that bullshit but without some further explanation I'm not buying it.


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57607332/ebt-benefit-card-glitch-sparks-walmart-shopping-sprees-in-louisiana/

[lapfog_1]

1. most likely a policy

as in... "if I can't check the available balance on this EBT card, should I approve the transaction or deny it?"

One might pick "approve" since many people use these cards for essential services and food.

Sort of like what happens with many fail safe designs.

The idea that the account checking system failed due to a lack of power while "testing something" sounds a bit fishier.

[Egnever]

2. Well i am not an expert in data centers

But hard slaming a windows machine during a windows update has created problems for clients of mine before.

[left on green only]

3. "...as shoppers swept through the aisles at two stores and bought as much as they could carry"

I wonder why CBS didn't mention that the "shopping sprees" with EBS Food Stamp cards could have only been related to FOOD purchases, and that alcohol and a lot of other stuff aren't even a part of that. The way that the article is written, it would lead one to believe that the people in these stores were buying merchandise like Tee Vees and video cameras.

Sounds to me like someone at CBS wrote an intentionally sensational story with the intended purpose of getting people to click on it so that they would be "forced" to watch the advertising pollution that preceded the story. On my screen, the ad began playing without my even clicking on it. All I did was open up the site and try to read the printed words.

I wonder who got rich off of that assault against our senses? Whoever it was, I wish a pox upon them.

edited for syntax.

[LiberalArkie]

4. I used to work at a large data center.

A maintenance man doing routine maintenance on the building UPS system was changing the filters in the ups.

This work was being done in the daytime as it was not service impacting. The filters were the metal kind not cardboard like at home. The maintenance man did not notice that the clip holding the top of the filter was loose. When he shut the door holding the filter, the filter fell backward and shorted out the ups. The building went down.

The building had to run on 5 1.5 mw generators for over 2 months until the ups manufacturer could certify that the ups would work properly. Needles to say the UPS maintenance man, the data center in charge person were canned.