When Technology Fails Us

These past few weeks have been rough on those of us dependent on technology.   Some of the failures have been subtle while others have been spectacular and are ongoing.   Are we just too dependent on technology?  Are our tech providers practicing risky behavior without proper planning or safeguards?  Or, is it just purely a numbers game – with so many ways to fail: services, providers, interconnects between infrastructures, etc. – eventually, something does.

First, a definition.

failure

1. the act or an instance of failing

2. a person or thing that is unsuccessful or disappointing

3. nonperformance of something required or expected

4. cessation of normal operation; breakdown

5. an insufficiency or shortage

With that definition in mind, I’d venture a lot of us would consider a high percentage of technology a failure.  But, in reality, the opposite is true.  Well… that’s what I would have said 30 days ago.  This past month has been a real train wreck.

Read for yourself:

• amazon cloud outage

The Amazon Cloud Failure Redux

Poll: How Did Amazon Web Services Handle its Worst Ever Disruption?

Amazon’s Cloud #fail is a wakeup call

The AWS Outage: The Cloud’s Shining Moment

• southwest airlines communication outage

Southwest ‘eerily quiet’ during computer glitches

• playstation network outage

PlayStation Network Remains Down Indefinitely After Hacker Attack

• grocery store opens without employees

NZ Grocery Store Accidentally Opens With No Employees

• amazon pricing of books

Amazon’s $23,698,655.93 book about flies

How a Book Accidentally Gets Priced at $23 Million on Amazon

• alaska airlines computer crash

Alaska Airlines / Horizon Air Computer Crash Crashes Spring Break

Notice the ugly pattern?  Like I said, it has been a rough few weeks.

For a laugh, finish off your day with a cup of coffee and read this fantastic post: A Tale of Technology Fail

What have we learned, fellow technology users?  Remember to back up your data, book your airline reservations early, put your Playstation up for sale on eBay, check for employees before starting your grocery shopping, always check the prices of online books before clicking ‘Buy’, and brew your own coffee.

Who needs technology anyway?  🙂