1. Codosaurus

Sometimes you’re out and receive an alarmed call from a client saying the website broke. Usually this entails a drive back to the nearest computer, but with Codosarus, you can connect to the website through FTP and quickly fix the issue from the convenience of your phone.

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2. CSS Pro Quick Guide

The CSS Pro Quick Guide is an essential tool in any web developer’s set. For developers new to CSS, the app provides an introduction to the basics of CSS while for the more experienced, the app is a wealth of information right at your fingertips.

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3. Texstatic

A coder’s work is never finished. If you feel the itch to code while out on the road, you can do so with Textstatic. It supports over 80 programming and markup languages and makes it easy to connect to your code through FTP or even Dropbox.

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4. Nebulous Notes

Nebulous Notes is a text editor that’s ideal for taking notes, writing, and coding on the go. Boasting an intuitive design, this app is a good tool for those situations where you need to write something down. It also syncs with Dropbox, allowing you to access your projects from anywhere in the world with ease.

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5. Introduction to Computer Programming

For students who prefer to learn at their own pace independent of a class, this educational app is a great resource. Including 13 lessons and 43 videos, it teaches the fundamentals of programming and an introduction to the C language.

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6. Learn Java Programming

Written for absolute beginners, this educational app aims to teach Java, utilizing the convenience of a phone or tablet. With 19 topics ranging from variables to arrays, this is a crash course into the world of Java development whether it’s on the web, developing games, or even mobile device programming.

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7. National Cyber Security for iPhone and iPad

This app, by LIGAAT Security, was created to help combat the growing threat of cyber terrorism. It’s a newsletter with over 200,000 unique viewers a month specifically to keep you informed of what’s going on in the cyber security world.

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8. Webr

Webr helps people create websites without needing all the technical know-how. Whether for beginners just starting off with a blog, or an experience developer who just needs to get something off the ground, this app makes that possible with only four easy steps to a published website.

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9. SEO Search Ranking

For developers wishing to optimize SEO on their site, this app has a solution. It quickly scans rankings based on an input of an unlimited amount of keywords and spits back info and history reports for you to browse at your convenience.

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10. Gusto Mobile – Code Editor and FTP Client

Gusto Mobile is a code editor that connects to your server through FTP and SFTP so that you can always have control of your website at the tips of your fingers. It has syntax highlighting for all major languages and includes ease of use tools such as a toolbar for frequently used keys.

Professional and Research Associations

• Association for Computing Machinery is the most all-inclusive association for Computer Scientists. ACM concerns itself with every facet of the computer industry, from the design and construction of computers, to the programs that run on them, and the ins and outs of networking them.
• International Association of Computer Science and Information Technology is a non-profit association consisting of some of the foremost scholars and computer scientists in the computer science industry. The membership includes leading researchers, faculty deans of prominent computer science programs, engineers, and software developers.
• Computer Science Teachers Association promotes computer science education particularly in the K-12 context. The association provides opportunities and resources for teachers that will aid them in the process of instructing children in the fundamentals of computer science.
• The Computer Research Association seeks to advance education in computing as well as computer science itself through research and policy advocacy.
• IEEE Computer Society strives to be the premier information resource for computing professionals. The society publishes several journals, provides extensive training opportunities, and fosters a strong professional community for researchers, engineers, software engineers, IT professionals, and students.
• Association for Women in Computing is devoted to the advancement of women in computing fields. The association provides special support and advocacy for women in computing industries, which are largely male dominated.
• Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence is a non-profit association that was founded in 1979 and is devoted to understanding thought and intelligent behavior, particularly their potential for embodiment in machines. AAAI promotes research in, and the responsible use of artificial intelligence.
• Birla Institute of Technology and Science: Computer Science Association was founded in the late 1950’s with the goal of providing training and support to computer science students and professionals, with the intent of encouraging the spirit of innovation in the field.
• International Society for Computers and Their Applications is devoted to the promotion and advancement of science and engineering in the field of computers.
• Electronic Frontier Foundation is an advocacy group concerned with preserving the digital freedoms that allow computer professionals to continue to innovate in the field and advance technology for the benefit of the human race.
• International Association for Cryptologic Research is a non-profit scientific organization devoted to the advancement of cryptology, one of the most fundamentally important fields in a society that increasingly relies on digital means of communication.

Publications

• IT Professional Magazine is IEEE’s bi-monthly magazine covering the intersection of computer science and information technology. The magazine is geared toward the developers and managers of enterprise information systems.
• IEEE Software is a bi-monthly magazine covering cutting edge software development information to aid software engineers and managers in keeping on top of this rapidly changing field. IEEE Software bridges the gap between pure research and pure practice in software development.
• IEEE Micro is a bi-monthly magazine with an international audience comprised primarily of microcomputer and microprocessor designers, engineers, and system integrators. The magazine serves readers that wish to improve their understanding of computers, peripherals, systems, components and other assorted aspects of computing technology.
• Internet Computing is another bi-monthly IEEE publication and is positioned at the intersection of academic research and software development with the goal of fleshing out the application of emerging internet technology to modern day life.
• IEEE Intelligent Systems is a peer-reviewed publication featuring articles on cutting edge theory and the applications of intelligent systems. The journal is targeted at computer science and engineering professionals across multiple fields including healthcare, defense, finance, manufacturing, and science.
• IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications bridges the theory and practice of computer graphics. The magazine features content exploring every facet of computer graphics integration, as well as tutorials and surveys aimed at providing a broad overview of the field.
• Annals of the History of Computing is IEEE’s archival journal of computing history and covers all major aspects of the history of the computing field, from its ambitious beginnings to the present day.
• Computational Mechanics publishes original scholarly research regarding the field of computational mechanics. The advancement of the rational application of mechanics, mathematics is the primary concern of this journal.
• Computational Intelligence is a leading international journal devoted to the exploration of artificial intelligence, both its applications and philosophical implications. Computational Intelligence achieves this through the publication of both experimental and theoretical research.
• Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory is an international forum for the publication of interdisciplinary research in order to advance science in formal reasoning, analysis, and system building.
• Cluster Computing: the Journal of Networks, Software Tools and Applications is a forum for the presentation of cutting edge research and technology in parallel processing, distributed computing systems, and computer networks.
• The International Journal of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science publishes interdisciplinary research in various fields including applied mathematics, scientific computing, and computer science.
• Information and Computation publishes original articles in all areas of theoretical computer science as well as the computational applications of information theory.
• Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research was one of the world’s first electronic scientific journals and publishes refereed articles, survey articles and technical notes concerned with the field of artifical intelligence.
• Journal of Automated Reasoning is an interdisciplinary journal that publishes an array of articles concerned with the pure theory, practical implementation, and application of automated reasoning.
• Journal of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology is positioned at the cross section of biology and computer science and features original research articles geared toward aiding both biologists interested in further implementing computers in their work and computer scientists interested in biology and bridging the gap between the two fields.
• Journal of Circuits, Systems, and Computers focuses on the hardware side of computer science and computer engineering by covering the advancements in the design of circuits and their application to computers and computer systems.
• Logical Methods in Computer Science is a refereed, open access, free online journal featuring papers addressing the use of logical methods in the field of computer science.
• Journal of Cryptology is the journal of the International Association for Cryptologic Research and the primary means of the dissemination of research findings of that organization. The journal also publishes original cryptology research from outside the association and other research regarding information security.
• Journal of Systems and Software primarily features papers addressing the myriad issues involving programming methodology, software engineering, and hardware/software systems challenges.
• Association for Computing Machinery is responsible for the publication of over 40 journals related to various facets of computer science and is one of the most highly regarded sources for information on the computer science field.

Conferences

• International Conference on Software and Computer Technology features distinguished keynote speakers and the presentation of research papers. The goal of the ICSCT is to provide a platform for researchers and industry professionals to present their research findings and participate in professional development activities.
• The International Conference on Software Engineering and Mobile Application Modelling and Development provides a forum in which researchers and industrial practitioners can discuss the most pressing issues facing the software engineering field today.
• IEEE Infocom is an international conference on computer communications that addresses key topics and issues related to the field.
• CVPR features speakers, tutorials, and workshops geared toward the professional development of students, researchers, and academics.
• ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems is the foremost international conference dealing with the topic of human-computer interaction.
• ACM Symposium on the Theory of Computing is held in Palo Alto at the campus of Stanford University and consists of both tutorials and workshops in addition to the core conference program.
• Symposium on Operating Systems Principles is one of the top computer science conferences addressing the topic of the principles of operating system design. The conference is geared toward professionals in all aspects of computer science whether it be research, development, programming, or teaching.
• World Congress in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Applied Computing consists of research presentations, keynote lectures, invited presentations on a variety of topics, tutorials, panel discussions, and poster presentations spanning topics across the fields of computer science, computer engineering and applied computing.

Koder Code Editor

The Koder iPad app will find itself useful to computer science students and current professionals alike. Find and edit code, use a snippet manager and access many other features with this application. The app has a useful syntax editing feature that supports 24 computer languages, which is perfect for quick coding on-the-go.

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CodeToGo

This handy app is equipped to run code on a Linux server and retrieve results; currently, the app supports 50 computer languages and internet connection is necessary. The app automatically saves the code being worked on, and all code files can be saved, loaded and transferred via Dropbox or iTunes.

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Computer Science, MIS and Networking

Designed by WAGmob, this iPad app is rich with content for the computer science major. From programming basics, algorithms to memory management, the app covers topics explored in an undergraduate computer science program. The application also comes loaded with flashcards, quizzes and lessons to help improve computer science comprehension.

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AS Level ICT

Information and communication technologies, otherwise known as ICT, is fully covered in this educational iPad app. Users have access to over eight hours of instructional videos and lessons that focus on validation and verification, encoding data, problems explored in ICT, networks, human computer interaction and much more.

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101 Concepts Computer Science

This instructive app functions like a classroom in an iPad. Students and those simply interested in the subject have access to beginner and expert levels of instruction. While learning, students can take and save notes in the app, and computer concepts can instantly be sent to e-mail and shared with friends via social media.

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Khan Academy

Khan Academy, a leader in free online education, has an iPad app that’s equipped with beginning computer science. There, students can expose themselves to the subject through Khan Academy’s helpful instructional videos. Videos offer step-by-step lessons on basic code writing, and after watching, students have the option to write their own JavaScript code.

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Textastic

As one of the various coding apps offered by Apple, Textastic exceeds expectations by allowing users to code in more than 80 computer languages. Computer Science students and current professionals can customize fonts and font sizes to their liking. For quick and easy coding, the virtual keyboard includes easily accessible symbols.

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php Cheat Sheet

This app is useful for the beginning computer science student learning the ropes of the subject and current professionals in need of reference sources. The application functions as a basic glossary for terms and definitions which include File systems, Errors, FTP, XML Zip, HTTP and many more essential concepts.

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FTP on the Go

This convenient iPad app is a great option for the computer science student, computer engineering professional or business owner who needs to view, edit, download and upload files from anywhere. Using wireless connection, users can share file access with others  and can connect from a computer through web or FTP clients.

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techBASIC

This ipad application is designed for the BASIC programming language. techBASIC allows users to create their own apps, analyze data using matrix operations and utilize graphing capabilities. For those new to BASIC, the app has a starter guide, reference manual, lessons and sample programs that can be modified.

 Andrew Blum: What is the Internet, Really?

What does the internet look like, physically? It’s a strange question that few give much thought to. Technically it’s just a connection of networks, but really it’s much more than that. Underground cables, giant databases, and secret switches are just a part of what makes up the internet.

Avi Rubin: All Your Devices Can Be Hacked

Anything is hackable. Your devices are never safe, whether it’s your phone, your car GPS, or even your heart pacer. In this TED Talk, Avi Rubin talks about hacking and why it’s important to keep an open mind about security.

Margaret Gould Stewart: How YouTube Thinks About Copyright

In this short TED Talk, Margaret Stewart briefly goes over copyright law and how YouTube deals with and responds to copyright infringement. It’s a delicate process, with YouTube trying to respect the rights of copyright owners and give them a choice in how copyright infringement is played out.

Michael Anti: Behind the Great Firewall of China

Michael Anti discusses how the censorship of the Chinese internet is used to keep the Chinese in more than to keep people out and how it creates an online ecosystem unique to China. The manner in which it is done, however, is interesting and the unintended consequences are surprising.

Eli Pariser: Beware Online “Filter Bubbles”

As web technologies become more and more advanced at figuring out what we want to see, everything else is dimmed down. Eli Pariser warns of the future internet where the average consumer is trapped in a filter bubble where the information coming in becomes increasingly narrower.

Jer Thorp: The Weight of Data

Jer Thorp is out to show people stuff. The stuff he wants to show people is the type of stuff that most people don’t want to look at. What’s his solution? He’s innovating the way data visualization is created and making dull information into beautiful works of art.

Gary Kovacs: Tracking the Trackers

Millions of people are unknowingly being spied on. Every day information is gathered from the links you click on, to the products you buy online. Gary Kovacs speaks about his new web browser app that watches the watchers and returns power to the average internet user.

Mikko Hypponen: Three Types of Online Attack

Most don’t realize just how much the government interferes in their daily lives. In this short TED Talk, Mikko Hypponen goes over how some western governments are using tactics similar to communist Eastern Germany to control its citizens.

Shimon Schocken: The Self-Organizing Computer Course

Shimon Schocken starts a conversation about the future of education. He explains how the future of free online education is in open source teaching and how that future is a bright one.

Misha Glenny: Hire the Hackers!

Who is the average hacker? This is a question Misha Glenny set out to fulfill and has come to a conclusion that’s rather surprising. He suggests that companies shouldn’t be suing their hackers, they should be hiring them instead.

These blogs, listed in no particular order, feature the passionate musings of some of the greatest minds in the industry from many of the major facets of the field.

Best Computer Science Blogs

1. Behind Enemy Lines is the blog of a computer science professional currently in business school. He tackles computer science issues from both the perspective of a computer scientist and a business professional.

2. A+ Computer Science is Cool! is the blog of Stacey Armstrong, a 15 year veteran of computer science education that is currently teaching at Cypress Woods High School in Texas.

3. The Advocate is the blog of the Computer Science Teachers Association. The blog focuses primarily on the state of computer science education.

4. Freedom to Tinker is hosted by Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy and provides readers with commentary on and analysis of emerging digital technologies and the state of technology policy.

5. Glencora Borradaile is an assistant professor in the School of Engineering and Computer Science at Oregon State University. Glencora’s blog covers a wide range of topics, mostly featuring content on high level computer science, teaching strategies and her thoughts on research and computer science news.

6. Haystack Blog is the blog of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and addresses topics inside and outside the computer science and artificial intelligence field, from cutting edge CS and AI research, to the way in which massive open online courses are changing the form and function of education in modern society.

7. Jason’s Computer Science Blog features many different types of content, from musings of the blog’s proprieter Jason Ernst on computer science, to guest articles from various computer science professionals and the occasional tutorial or guide.

8. My Biased Coin is a blog about the perspective of its author on computer science, networking, algorithms, information theory and just about anything else related to computer science.

9. Radford Neal’s Blog features the musings of its namesake author, a professor of Statistics and Computer Science at the University of Toronto. The blog’s subject matter is primarily scientific; mostly involving the technical aspects of statistics and computer science, and examining the relationship of statistics to computation.

10. Oddhead is the blog of David Pennock, a computer scientist that works at the intersection of computer science and finance. The blog features content about prediction markets, gambling, artificial intelligence, and the role of computer science in modern day society.

11. Process Algebra Diary features the opinions of its author on scientific papers, mostly relating to process algebra and computer science.

12. Comp Sci Gail is the blog of Gail Charmichal. The goal of the blog is to make computer science more accessible to everybody, but her particular passion is encouraging girls and women to develop their interest in the field and providing her readers with a female perspective on the industry.

13. Adventures in Computation blogger Aaron Roth is an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Pennsylvania. The blog focuses primarily on the interests of Aaron which include differential privacy, algorithmic game theory, learning theory, and algorithms.

14. Computational Complexity is the home of the musings of computer science professors William Gasarch and Lance Fortnow on the subjects of computational complexity, general mathematics, and computer science.

15. Computational Information Geometry Wonderland is a weighty blog, highly scientific in its subject matter, and highly regarded by people who utilize computational information geometry in the field of computer science.

16. Gödel’s Lost Letter is the blog of Georgia Tech Professor of Computer Science Dick Lipton and SUNY Buffalo professor Ken Regan. Both have years of experience in Computational Complexity and their blog is a forum on which they can share their excitement about the field with others.

17. Gowers’s Weblog is a heavily mathematical blog written by a member of the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics at Cambridge University. The primary focus of the blog is arithmetic combinatorics which has broad applications in the field of computer science.

18. in theory is the blog of Luca Trevisan, a professor of computer science at Stanford University. The blog addresses issues in education, mathematics and computer science while also covering the food and movie preferences of Luca.

19. Paul Goldberg is a computer science professional and his blog is a commentary on theoretical computer science, economics and academia.

20. Shtel-Optimized is the blog of MIT professor Scott Aaronson and it deals primarily with his thoughts and research on computational complexity ,and the potential of quantum computing.

21. The Geomblog is a blog featuring the musings of its author on computational geometry, algorithms, and theoretical computer science.

22. the polylogblog is a research blog addressing topics concerning data streams and is written by Andrew McGregor, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

23. Prof. M. Saeed is a blog primarily dealing with physics as they apply to the field of computer science but also features socio-political content mainly focused on the Middle East.

24. The Endeavour is the blog of John D. Cook, a math professor, computer programmer, consultant and statistician. The goal of the blog is to provide a forum on which the author can apply his eclectic professional experience to various problems across various fields.

25. profserious is a blog featuring the author’s thoughts on engineering and computer science.

26. Female Computer Scientist is a blog about the challenges faced by women in the field of computer science and academia in general, as well as the joys of and strategies for overcoming those challenges. The blog also offers ample advice for women considering computer science and academia.

27. Google Research is an official Google company blog devoted to publishing Google’s research findings, not only on computer science, but many of the most important issues facing our global culture today.

28. Lambda the Ultimate is a blog devoted fully to the topic of programming language theory, programming languages, and programming language research.

29. Research Blogging is a collaborative weblog initiative designed to give researchers a forum for presenting and discussing their research and the research of others. The site has an entire section devoted to engineering and computer science and features high quality research content.

30. Turing’s Invisible Hand is a collaborative blog featuring the musings of six computer science academics from some of the top CS programs in the world. The primary content of the blog deals with algorithmic game theory and computation, and their relationship to economics.

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Air travel relies on concentration and precision, and even the slightest error can cause hundreds of deaths. Furthermore, while the majority of air accidents are blamed on pilot error, factors like miscommunication and computer malfunctions can lead to disaster as well.

In an age of increased automation, pilots, air traffic controllers and even passengers invest a lot of faith in on-board computers and advanced navigational systems – and any technical problems can be devastating. Read on for 10 computer errors that caused fatal plane crashes.

10. Qantas Flight 72

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On October 7, 2008, a Qantas flight from Singapore to Perth came close to disaster when its computer system went haywire. While flying over the Indian Ocean, the Airbus 330′s Air Date Inertial Reference Unit malfunctioned and began to feed false information to the flight computer.

This mechanical problem caused the plane to go through a series of terrifying plunges, including several drops of over 100 feet. The passengers and crew were thrown against the ceiling of the aircraft, and even after the pilots took manual control of the plane, it still continued to behave erratically.

The crew were forced to make an emergency landing at Learmonth Airport in Western Australia. In total, 115 of the 315 people on board were injured. Following the incident, almost 150 of the passengers took legal action against Qantas.

9. Air France Flight 296

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On June 26, 1988, Air France Flight 296 took part in the Mulhouse-Habsheim air show to showcase the new fly-by-wire Airbus A320-111. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a poor advertisement for the aircraft – and one with deadly consequences. While making a pass over the airport, the plane flew too low and crashed, killing three of the 136 people on board.

While the official investigation blamed the pilot for making his run too slowly at low power, there’s reason to believe that computer failure contributed to the crash as well. Captain Asseline, the pilot of the aircraft, claimed that the plane’s altimeter reported that it was 100 feet above the runway, when the actual altitude was just 30 feet.

Asseline also claimed that the aircraft failed to respond to his attempts to pull up from the dive, possibly as a result of him turning off the automatic throttle. The A320 is known for control problems, and two other pilots reported near-disasters shortly after Flight 296′s crash.

8. 1994 Scotland RAF Chinook Crash

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On June 2, 1994, a Chinook helicopter carrying 29 people crashed on the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland, killing everyone on board. The tragedy was blamed on pilot error for many years, but a recent investigation has revealed that the real culprit may have been software problems.

Nine months before the crash, a Ministry of Defence report suggested that Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC), the control system being used to run the engines, was “positively dangerous.” And a House of Commons investigation found more than 486 anomalies in the software after examining only 18 percent of the code.

Robert Burke, a Chinook test pilot, said in 2001 that a sudden surge from the FADEC system could have caused the Chinook to rise into the cloud, which caused the fatal crash. And in one case, test pilots at Boscombe Down refused to fly the base’s Chinooks until their engine control systems had undergone revision.

In July 2011, a new report finally exonerated the pilots involved in the 1994 accident. The exact cause of the disaster remains uncertain.

7. AeroPerú Flight 603

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Poor maintenance and a malfunctioning computer system caused this next devastating crash on our list. On October 2, 1996, AeroPerú Flight 603 was en route from Peru to Chile. However, moments after takeoff, all three altimeters seemed to be stuck.

Shortly afterwards, other instruments on the Boeing 757 began to fail as well. The Proximity Indicator warned the pilots that the aircraft was about to crash into the ground, while at the same time, air traffic control informed them that they were almost 10,000 feet up in the air, Their speed was registered as zero, and while the crew were told that the plane was going up, they were actually slowly descending.

The pilots were disoriented by the conflicting warnings, and air traffic control sent a Boeing 707 to guide Flight 603 in. But before the 707 could reach the aircraft, it crashed into the water below and sank, killing all 70 people on board.

The cause of the problem was later found to be duct tape covering the 757′s static ports, on the underside of the plane. The computer relied on this supporting system for accurate information, and covering the ports resulted in its data inputs coming in as gibberish.

6. Adam Air Flight 574

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This disaster shows that sometimes pilots can be so focused on computer problems that they miss the obvious. On January 1, 2007, Adam Air Flight 574 was flying over Polewali, West Sulawesi when its navigation systems malfunctioned.

The pilots of the Boeing 737 became so engrossed in troubleshooting the problem that they inadvertently disconnected the autopilot, which would normally have kept the plane on course. Somehow, they also forgot to check the airplane’s altitude and position on other cockpit instruments. As a result, the plane plunged into the sea, killing all 96 passengers and six crew members on board.

An investigation by the Indonesian National Committee for Transportation concluded that the cause of the disaster was a combination of instrument failure and pilot error. Adam Air planes had suffered previous navigational problems, and the safety record of Indonesian airlines following these accidents (and others) led to them being banned from the EU. Adam Air was later banned by the Indonesian government as well and eventually filed for bankruptcy.

5. Spanair Flight JK 5022

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Viruses cause a lot of computer crashes, but it’s rare for one to bring down an entire airplane. However, on August 20, 2008, Spanair Flight 5022 was making a run from Madrid-Barajas Airport to Gran Canaria Airport. And what’s more, the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 had barely taken off from the runway when it smashed into the ground and broke into pieces, killing 154 of the 172 people on board, including all crew members.

The crash was caused by the crew failing to deploy wing-mounted flaps and slats correctly to generate lift. Nevertheless, a key reason for the pilots not correctly configuring the aircraft was the failure of the Take-Off Warning System to alert them that there was a problem.

It was later discovered that the computer that was meant to monitor technical problems was infected with malware, which may have been responsible for the disaster.

4. Korean Air Flight 801

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On August 6, 1997, Korean Air Flight 801 attempted to make a landing at Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport in Guam. As the Boeing 747 approached solid ground, its crew could tell that the angle of approach was too steep, yet none of them were quick enough to prevent the accident.

The airplane crashed about three miles short of the runway, killing 228 of the 254 passengers and crew on board. An investigation into the crash found that there was a fault with the Ground Proximity Warning System, which should have alerted the crew that they were flying too low.

On top of this, air traffic control’s radar had been deliberately set to ignore planes below a certain altitude, and the airfield’s Instrument Landing System was down. Adding to a perfect storm of failures, the crew were also using outdated flight maps and flying below the minimum safe altitude.

3. Air France Flight 447

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Air France Flight 447′s crash was caused by a combination of mechanical fault and pilot error. On May 31, 2009, the Airbus A330-203 was traveling from Rio de Janeiro International Airport to Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. Junior pilot Pierre-Cédric Bonin was at the controls.

Approximately four hours into the flight, the aircraft’s computer encountered a problem. As the A330 entered a storm, the pitot tubes in the nose of the plane that indicate airspeed froze. This resulted in the autopilot and auto-thrust systems of the airplane disengaging.

Bonin’s panicked reaction was to pull back on the control stick in an attempt to increase the plane’s height in the air. This resulted in a number of stall warnings, but the pilot continued to try to gain altitude against the advice of more experienced members of the crew. Tragically, the plane lost forward thrust and plunged into the sea, killing all 228 people on board.

2. Korean Air Lines Flight 007

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One of the tensest moments of the Cold War was caused by computer error. On September 1, 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was traveling from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage.

There was a fault with the aircraft’s autopilot system. The system had four basic modes; and if the Boeing 747 was more than 7.5 miles from its assigned course when the mode was switched, it might continue to follow its previous course – which could result in the plane deviating from its assigned flight path.

Approximately 10 minutes after takeoff, Flight 007 began to deviate north of its planned route – most likely as a result of this problem. The new flight path brought the airliner over the Kamchatka Peninsula and into Soviet airspace.

At the time, tensions were high between the Soviet Union and the West, and the flight was mistaken for an aircraft from a nearby American aircraft carrier. As a result, Soviet air defense fighters shot down the plane, killing all 269 people on board.

1. Iran Air Flight 655

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On July 3, 1988, towards the end of the Iran–Iraq War, Iran Air Flight 655 was on its way from Bandar Abbas to Dubai when it was shot down by two US surface-to-air missiles. The missiles were fired from U.S. Navy cruiser the USS Vincennes, when the civilian Airbus was mistakenly identified as an attacking F-14A Tomcat over the Strait of Hormuz.

The Vincennes was in Iranian waters at the time, and the tragedy drew a lot of controversy. The Iranian government insists that the incident was an act of negligence, and US commanders and the Vincennes’s Captain William C. Rogers III have been criticized as “reckless” and “aggressive.”

First, the crew incorrectly interpreted the newly fitted Aegis combat system and misidentified the airliner as an attacking military craft. Then the crew judged that the plane was descending, making a swoop attack, when in fact, Flight 655 was ascending when it was shot down.

Previously, Matt Jaffe, an engineer who helped design Aegis, had recognized the complexity of reading altitude on the system. He suggested that there should be an indicator installed to register whether a craft was ascending or descending. However, his superiors refused the idea – with fatal consequences for Flight 655.

All 290 people (including 66 children) on board the doomed flight died in the attack. The Pentagon has been accused of trying to cover up the tragic blunder with everything from denials to “stone walling.” And, overcome by guilt, several Vincennes crewmembers ended up in counseling.

In the end, the US government reached a settlement agreement with the Iranian government and agreed to pay US$61.8 million to the families of the victims. However, the US has never admitted fault or apologized for the bizarre incident.

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Computer hacking has all the ingredients necessary for a Hollywood blockbuster: it’s intense, skillful and highly illegal. Unfortunately, real-world hacking is often a matter of sending spam emails, running long and complicated programs and painstakingly trying to guess passwords, which makes it incredibly boring to watch on screen. That’s probably why most movies about hacking try to spice things up with glamorous stars, ridiculously fast hacks, and user interfaces designed solely to make things easier for audiences. We list the 12 most downright improbable computer hacking movies ever released in Hollywood.

12. Hackers

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This mid-90s movie depicts computer hackers as suspiciously well-dressed punks with good looks that match their skills. And, it also happens to be the film that launched Angelina Jolie’s career as a leading lady. Unfortunately, the actual computer infiltration shown in this movie is totally ludicrous: the hackers use a 3D interface that looks like a cross between Tron and an old school arcade game. Once inside the computer, they actually navigate using joysticks, and “fire” programs at each other like missiles. The computers flash messages like “virus uploading” just to make sure that the audience can understand what’s going on. Roger Ebert said he took the computer hacking “approximately as seriously as the archaeology in Indiana Jones.” It’s enough to make you wonder if the writers had even used a computer before…

11. Firewall

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Troubled actor Harrison Ford, once the best in the business, is forced to perform one last dirty job by a heartless movie production company. His mission: to make Firewall a success at the box office. Can he pull it off? Probably not. Most of the hacking in this 2006 movie is just meaningless techno babble. One scene stands out as particularly bad: protagonist Jack Stanfield connecting his daughter’s iPod to a camera in order to capture images of “bank accounts” at the company he works for. Not only would this not work (since iPods had neither the hardware nor the software to accommodate a scanner), but how would getting images of the accounts allow the antagonists to hack them? And could they really empty 10,000 bank accounts without anyone noticing? To cap it off, Ford seems to be daydreaming about his paycheck throughout the movie, even the fight scenes. Han Solo has fallen a long way.

10. Masterminds

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Masterminds is an obscure movie that is chiefly memorable for its incredibly inaccurate depiction of hacking. The flick opens with the computer-cracking protagonist attempting to get into a horror computer game company’s system to see one of its products ahead of time, only to find that its security is horror-themed as well. Once inside the system, the young mastermind finds himself in a 3D dungeon full of animated skeletons, monsters and demons. Despite the program calling him an “illegal intruder,” it also helpfully gives him two minutes to “find valid entrance.” Needless to say, this isn’t an accurate depiction of hacking – apart from the fact that any security system that detected an intruder could simply cut off their connection; once the hacker entered the correct password he shouldn’t have had to play pointless mini-games. This isn’t Morrowind; if a real company ran a computer database like that most of its employees would quit.

9. Live Free or Die Hard

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The original Die Hard movie was implausible enough, but the fourth installment of John McClane’s adventures is where it really starts getting silly. A “genius” cyberterrorist (who still clearly needs to take a Computing 101 course) hacks into America’s computer-controlled infrastructure and starts causing all kinds of disasters by manipulating traffic lights, redirecting natural gas lines to cause explosions and even redirecting fighter pilots to attack targets in the middle of busy streets. Yet the USA’s systems are neither that dependent on automation nor that accessible from remote areas, and for a good reason. Add to the fact that the violence and swearing were mostly cut out for this PG-13 release and you have not only an implausible depiction of hacking but a pretty neutered Die Hard installment as well.

8. Johnny Mnemonic

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This 1995 film features Keanu Reeves as a “data courier” who carries information for corporations in a device inside his head. Over the course of the movie, he is forced to try to hack in to his own mind to remove vital information and stop himself from suffering total brain death. Judging by Keanu’s recent film role choices, this didn’t work. Of the movie’s many technological annoyances, probably the most glaring is the limited amount of data his storage device can handle: the title character has to give up many of his memories to store 160 GB and is in grave danger of death from storing 320 GB, or about half as much as an average computer hard drive in 2012. Considering the human mind holds approximately 1 million gigabytes of information, these future memory devices seem very bulky. Add to this Reeves’ worst performance of all time and this is easily one of the crummiest cyberpunk films of the ’90s.

7. Swordfish

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Of all the glamorous portrayals of hackers, Swordfish is possibly the most over-the-top. Computer crackers not only look like Hugh Jackman, they earn billion dollar salaries and have Halle Berry clamoring to get into their pants. The movie’s most egregious scene is when Jackman’s character breaks into the Department of Defense in one minute while being given oral sex by a hooker – probably a physically impossible feat, especially since his main hacking skill seems to be typing very quickly. He also designs a computer worm by drawing different modules on a screen in 3D. It seems that the movie’s creators didn’t realize that programs are generally written in, well, writing…

6. The Net

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The Net was made in the 1990s when the internet was a new thing and ordering a pizza online was enough to mark you out as a hopeless techno-geek. As a result, the writers didn’t really seem to know what hackers were capable of and endow them with a variety of powers including the ability to change doctors’ prescriptions, and, indeed, to erase a person’s identity electronically. Not only would there still have been paper copies of everything available in 1995, but no law enforcement agency would disregard the word of everyone who knew the individual in favor of clearly flawed computer records. The main character also loses a lot of her tech-savvy credentials when she repeatedly pronounces “modem” wrong throughout the course of the film. And that’s not even getting to the movie’s most unrealistic aspect: Sandra Bullock as a computer geek who never interacts with the outside world.

5. Tron Movies

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We understand that a series which began with the protagonist being physically brought into cyberspace isn’t meant to be very realistic, but Tron and its sequel still cross the line when it comes to suspension of disbelief. The movies depend on the concept of people being “digitized” – that is, converted into information after being vaporized by a laser, technology that’s more Star Trek than near-future. Furthermore, simple hacking and security programs are depicted as having not only a consciousness but the equivalent of physical bodies. When we consider the first Tron film in particular, it’s worth remembering that this is 1980s technology: computer AI was limited to making the Space Invaders go faster the further they got down the screen. Awesome graphics, for the time anyway, but nobody can claim that it’s a very realistic idea.

4. Antitrust

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In this ridiculous turn-of-the-millennium thriller an idealistic software expert joins the alternate universe equivalent of Microsoft, only to discover that they are achieving their technological successes by stealing rival programmers’ code and murdering them to cover it up. Despite the relatively accurate depictions of hacking, the premise doesn’t really stand up to much scrutiny. In addition, in real life Bill Gates isn’t actually that bad: the man plans to give most of his money to charity for goodness’ sake. Why are technology developers always portrayed as evil tyrants? (Until they die, that is.)

3. WarGames

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WarGames may be a good movie, but as a source of information on computers it’s far from accurate. It stars Matthew Broderick as a teenage hacker who accidentally accesses the workings of the Department of Defense supercomputer instead of a computer game company – and almost starts World War III. Sure, using a modem to dial random numbers was a plausible way of cracking computers at the time, but a government computer developing intelligence and hacking the American launch codes to fire nuclear missiles really wasn’t. It also suffers from the Hollywood syndrome of dumbing things down for the viewers. Apparently a military supercomputer will actually speak to you in English once you hack into it. It may have reflected fears of technology in the Cold War era, but the events of WarGames would never happen in real life.

2. Ghost in the Machine

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Possibly the silliest flick in the hacking genre is this 1993 stab at a horror movie. It’s an oddly literal concept – a serial killer receives a fatal electric shock while having an MRI which somehow transfers his mind into cyberspace and turns him into a ghost who can hack into machines. Y’gettit…? In one of the film’s most absurd scenes, a babysitter is murdered by way of an exploding dishwasher. Even if we allow for supernatural powers, there is nothing in a common household item that could physically create an explosion like that. Mind you, the scene in which the killer somehow turns a hairdryer into a flamethrower is worth the price of the DVD alone.

1. Independence Day

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Of all the stupid hacks in Hollywood history, possibly the worst is the one that appears in this Roland Emmerich movie. In many ways, this film is just too easy a target. Apart from the standard problem of being able to insert a malicious program into a system ridiculously easily, there’s the flaw that everyone points out: how could a computer with 1996 technology possibly interface with a computer system hundreds of years more advanced and presumably running on completely different principles from Earth technology? And haven’t the aliens heard of a firewall? Just think, if they’d bothered to install Norton Antivirus it would have meant the end of civilization as we know it.