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Earlier this week, at an airport in Seattle, in the United States of America, a software error was responsible for an incident known as a 'tailstrike' on two Alaska Airlines flights. In the aviation world, a tailstrike is an incident in which the tail of the plane hits the runway, the ground or even another stationary object. Generally, these episodes occur during take-off or landing and are not normally considered dangerous movements - however, this is not always the case, as these incidents can seriously damage aircraft. At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport these accidents happened twice in the same morning, both involving Boeing aircraft operated by Alaska Airlines, even leading to the suspension of flights and temporary interruption of this company's air activity throughout the country. According to the subsequent investigation, it was discovered that a bug was responsible for this incident: according to the Seattle Times, these tailstrikes occurred after a software error in a program sold by a Swedish company called DynamicSource. This program is supposed to provide fundamental weight and balance information that pilots enter into their flight computers, to help determine, for example, how much thrust the engines will provide and how fast the plane will be available for take-off. In this particular case, the error ended up transmitting incorrect data that seriously underestimated the weight of both aircraft. The original article via Gizmodo can be read here.

Chrome users on the Windows operating system have reported problems when it comes to storing files on a network. In recent days, a bug report confirmed that Chrome version 109 refused to save files via a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path. When tested in different browsers, namely Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge (based on Chromium), the problem did not persist and the operation proceeded normally. As for the error itself, it manifests itself when searching for a file online; clicking on the save option and consequently storing the data on a network-shared device or cloud server. According to the same bug report, an error message appears in this context informing the user that the package cannot be opened as it contains system files. However, Windows users were not the only ones to face this problem. The British news site the Register carried out some tests and detected the same problem when trying to open a Dropbox file using the macOS Ventura 13.2 operating system. This Chrome file bug is expected to be resolved when version 110 is released. The original article via The Register can be read here.

BMW in the United States has issued a statement saying that more than 14,000 cars have been affected by a bug affecting the battery management unit. According to those responsible for the German brand on North American soil, the vehicles affected include the iX, i4 and i7 models produced between October 14, 2021 and October 28, 2022. In an official statement, BMW also said: "During internal quality checks, BMW has identified that incorrect diagnostics in the vehicle's battery management unit may occur from time to time. In very rare cases, this can lead to an unplanned interruption of the vehicle's battery charging or a deactivation of the high-voltage system. Software updates already available correct these occasional misdiagnoses." Although this software error has also been identified in Portugal, it poses no danger to drivers. The original article via NoticiasAoMinuto can be read here.

NASA announced in a statement last Wednesday that the Webb Space Telescope's instruments have been in safe mode intermittently since December, however, scientific operations resumed at the beginning of the week. During this period of safe mode, all of Webb's non-essential systems were shut down several times, meaning that no scientific operations were active and, naturally, making it impossible to carry out any observations. The US aerospace agency has since announced that the problem has been resolved. Valued at more than 10 billion dollars, the main purpose of the "Webb" telescope is to study not only the observation of stars, but also the evolution of galaxies and the formation processes of these stars and planets, using infrared wavelengths. From NASA's press release, it is also possible to understand that this bug was responsible for activating the attitude control system, which guides the direction in which this observatory should be pointed. The continuation of the original article via Gizmodo can be read here.

British Airways flights were suspended last Tuesday morning due to a bug in the flight planning system, leading to several planes being held up. According to the British airline: "Our teams have now resolved a temporary issue that affected some of our long-haul flight planning systems, leading to a number of delays." The problem is said to be related to the software that British Airways pilots access via their Apple iPads, according to Bloomberg, and that the system is being updated. The airline also confirmed that the vast majority of short-haul flights were not at all affected by the problem, stressing that none of its planes had any technical or safety problems. The continuation of the original article via World Times Todays can be read here.

Last Monday, Instagram said it had fixed a software bug that made it impossible for thousands of user accounts to access the platform. The problem lasted for more than eight hours and also led to the identification of suspended accounts. According to the outage tracking website Downdetector, the number of reports on this incident reached over 7500. "This bug was responsible for causing people in different parts of the world to have problems accessing their accounts, causing a temporary change in the number of followers for some," according to a tweet from Instagram itself. The US company, owned by Meta, has not detailed what caused the problem or whether the suspended bot accounts have been restored again. The original article via Metro can be read at: https://metro.co.uk/2022/11/01/instagram-fixes-bug-that-locked-people-out-of-their-accounts-for-hours-17675243/

Last Monday, Instagram said it had fixed a software bug that made it impossible for thousands of user accounts to access the platform. The problem lasted for more than eight hours and also led to the identification of suspended accounts. According to the outage tracking website Downdetector, the number of reports on this incident reached over 7500. "This bug was responsible for causing people in different parts of the world to have problems accessing their accounts, causing a temporary change in the number of followers for some," according to a tweet from Instagram itself. The US company, owned by Meta, has not detailed what caused the problem or whether the suspended bot accounts have been restored again. The original article via Metro can be read at: https://metro.co.uk/2022/11/01/instagram-fixes-bug-that-locked-people-out-of-their-accounts-for-hours-17675243/

Software Test Engineers create and test procedures to ensure that the software developed by the company doesn't have any problems or bugs and works exactly as it was designed. In general, these professionals ensure that the software reaches the market free of errors and technical problems. This procedure not only guarantees the quality of the product, but also helps to maintain the brand's image among customers. Software test engineers also have an advanced knowledge of software engineering, a keen attention to detail; and when it comes to problem solving, they are able to identify even the tiniest errors and flaws in the software. So why are Software Test Engineers so important? Ultimately, every product must deliver the quality it sets out to. Failing to do so can damage a company's reputation, and even more so if a customer has invested money in buying or using your software. Quality assurance explains the importance of software testing. When companies or people invest in their software and don't get the promised quality, they tend not to wait for the problem to be solved. Time becomes as important to companies as the investment itself, and waiting for things to improve means wasting that investment. So, by testing software before it reaches the market, you can assure your customers that their time and business are valuable. However, there are several problems that can arise during this testing phase, such as: architectural flaws; security problems or even a faulty design. There are, of course, many more errors or problems that can significantly damage the overall user experience. Therefore, the project team must set enough time for the test engineers to find faults, revert to the development unit and ensure that everything runs smoothly, offering a faithful user experience. The ultimate goal of software creation is to satisfy the needs of your customers. The best user experience can only be achieved through several stages of testing, and time defined to make the software free of any kind of errors. The emphasis placed on this skewer, the transmission of a good, faithful user experience can help build the right target audience. The original article via News Break Original can be read at: https://original.newsbreak.com/@angela-ash-1592974/2678160611049-software-test-engineers-what-they-are-and-why-you-need-them

In the United States of America, the results of the primary elections in Kane County, Illinois, were completely paralyzed last Tuesday due to problems with the software system. The chairman of the Kane County Republican Party, Kenneth Shepro, said in a statement that the electoral authorities had informed him that a bug was at the root of the problem: "Hart InterCivic technicians are working to correct the problem," said the US politician. The results were frozen for more than an hour. The original article via Shaw Local News Network can be read at: https://www.shawlocal.com/news/election/2022/06/29/primary-election-results-stalled-in-kane-due-to-software-problem/