Comments on: Liability for Software When Life is at Stake http://techrights.org/2008/11/19/liability-for-software-at-hospital/ Free Software Sentry – watching and reporting maneuvers of those threatened by software freedom Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:00:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Needs Sunlight http://techrights.org/2008/11/19/liability-for-software-at-hospital/comment-page-1/#comment-38347 Needs Sunlight Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:18:02 +0000 http://boycottnovell.com/2008/11/19/liability-for-software-at-hospital/#comment-38347 It's more than just the viruses that M$ is vulnerable to. The products just aren't stable for mission critical use. When you look at the server and infrastructure products from M$ it's even worse. Nowadays, pretty much every time I have contact with hospital information systems MS problems rear their ugly head. People I know have on multiple occasions not had their medical records available. Mostly this an annoyance and means they don't get proper treatment. However, in a different situation, that could mean easily life or death. Hospital staff I interview *lose* over 10 hours per week to Windows-specific failures. That's the functional equivalent of a > 20% downsizing in service... Top heads of departments, already with high workloads and high pressure, go without e-mail and rely on phone and fax. This is because instead of using a mail server (like simta, sendmail, postfix, etc) or collaborative software (like Zimbra, Kolab or Citadel) they use MS. Result? Critical messages lost or delayed. In worse cases even the phone is not a refuge. When MS products infect voice mail, replacing mature, stable technologies, then even the phone is not reliable. Again, a phone call, call forwarding and voice mail *are* serious matters of life and death in a hospital. Normally, Asterisk, Meridian, Definity or many other proven systems are used. When enough people lose kids, grandparents and elderly parents to lost messages, blocked phones, or unavailable or corrupted medical records, the damage will already have been done. Eventually Gates, Ballmer, Allichin, and the whole lot can be said to be party to manslaughter or similar. However, the real blame here and now lands on those making, actively or through inaction, the decision to allow M$ in the hospital. It’s more than just the viruses that M$ is vulnerable to. The products just aren’t stable for mission critical use. When you look at the server and infrastructure products from M$ it’s even worse.

Nowadays, pretty much every time I have contact with hospital information systems MS problems rear their ugly head. People I know have on multiple occasions not had their medical records available. Mostly this an annoyance and means they don’t get proper treatment. However, in a different situation, that could mean easily life or death. Hospital staff I interview *lose* over 10 hours per week to Windows-specific failures. That’s the functional equivalent of a > 20% downsizing in service…

Top heads of departments, already with high workloads and high pressure, go without e-mail and rely on phone and fax. This is because instead of using a mail server (like simta, sendmail, postfix, etc) or collaborative software (like Zimbra, Kolab or Citadel) they use MS. Result? Critical messages lost or delayed.

In worse cases even the phone is not a refuge. When MS products infect voice mail, replacing mature, stable technologies, then even the phone is not reliable. Again, a phone call, call forwarding and voice mail *are* serious matters of life and death in a hospital. Normally, Asterisk, Meridian, Definity or many other proven systems are used.

When enough people lose kids, grandparents and elderly parents to lost messages, blocked phones, or unavailable or corrupted medical records, the damage will already have been done.

Eventually Gates, Ballmer, Allichin, and the whole lot can be said to be party to manslaughter or similar. However, the real blame here and now lands on those making, actively or through inaction, the decision to allow M$ in the hospital.

]]> By: Roy Schestowitz http://techrights.org/2008/11/19/liability-for-software-at-hospital/comment-page-1/#comment-37909 Roy Schestowitz Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:03:50 +0000 http://boycottnovell.com/2008/11/19/liability-for-software-at-hospital/#comment-37909 The BBC did not mention this. The Register did. <a href="http://boycottnovell.com/2008/11/10/ashley-highfield-ms-payroll/" rel="nofollow">It figures</a>. ;-) <p align="center"> <img src="http://boycottnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/msbbc.jpg" alt="Microsoft BBC" /> </p> The BBC did not mention this. The Register did. It figures. ;-)

Microsoft BBC

]]> By: David Gerard http://techrights.org/2008/11/19/liability-for-software-at-hospital/comment-page-1/#comment-37903 David Gerard Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:58:36 +0000 http://boycottnovell.com/2008/11/19/liability-for-software-at-hospital/#comment-37903 I was particularly pleased to see in the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/technologynews/3482877/Computer-virus-causes-havoc-at-London-hospitals.html" rel="nofollow">Daily Telegraph report</a> mention of the fact that this is a <i>Windows</i> virus. Every time there's a press report of a computer virus outbreak that doesn't mention this fact, I think there should be many letters written pointing out that there are no Mac or Linux viruses in the wild, despite repeated attempts at scaremongering by insecurity companies. I was particularly pleased to see in the Daily Telegraph report mention of the fact that this is a Windows virus. Every time there’s a press report of a computer virus outbreak that doesn’t mention this fact, I think there should be many letters written pointing out that there are no Mac or Linux viruses in the wild, despite repeated attempts at scaremongering by insecurity companies.

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