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CNBC Software Flaw Worth $1 Million?
Strudelkugel writes "BusinessWeek tells the story of one obsessive fan who unraveled a software glitch worth one million dollars. Jim Kraber was a regular CNBC viewer, and when the opportunity arose he took the 'Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge' very seriously. At one point, he was spending 12 hours a day on the contest, using three computers to trade 1,600 different portfolios in a theoretical stock game. His efforts got him into the top 20 finalists, but in the last round of trading he noticed some unusual patterns. 'One trader had a stream of near-perfect picks, consistently placing huge bets on shares that soared in after-hours trading. Kraber suspected the trader and perhaps others were getting help from someone who was changing their picks after the stocks' increases — and he quickly notified CNBC ... Kraber says CNBC rebuffed him at the time, but now it looks like he may have been right.'"
Looks like Kraber wasted a lot of time, effort, and electricity and has nothing to show for it but 'TFA'.
From: Mark Hoffman, CNBC, Inc.
Steve Ballmer, CEO Microsoft Corp.
To: Jim Kraber
Re: Software Glitch
Dear Mr. Kraber,
I regret to inform you that, after a thorough investigation of the alleged trading irregularities by independent Microsoft software engineers, we have determined that the perceived trading irregularities were not the result of a software 'glitch' or 'bug', but were in fact security features.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
-Mark Hoffman
Steve Ballmer
Knowing Google's lust for data collection, the Soviet Union is still alive and well inside the psyche of Sergey Brin....
42-years old and spending 12 hours a day playing a stock trading game. Wasn't there an MMO he could be applying himself to instead?
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
Behind every Marketing person with an idea, there is a programmer that has to implement it.
Behind every Marketing person with an idea there's a project manager gritting his teeth, pulling on his knuckledusters and preparing equal doses of coffee and sedatives for the programmers. And he's probably speed-reading the old classic: "No, We're Not Going to Rewrite our Corporate Website Entirely in Flash, Because it's a Stupid Fucking Idea and You're Retarded For Suggesting it. Again."