Did MS software fail?
The problem seems to have started when...
'some clients had trouble accessing market data'.
...which is a quote from...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26604500/
And it could well be that the information comes from an MS based system - see
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/getthefacts/lse.mspx
If poor quality software from MS was responsible then let's make sure the message gets out.
Us techies know how bad MS is at software and we need to get the managers to understand as well. That way we'll be allowed to use proper software which will make life easier for all of us.
If this huge failure was the fault of Microsoft then let's make sure it is not covered up.
I have a strong feeling that the 2003 blackout of the NorthWest Unitied States was caused by the Blaster worm which was at its peak at the time but this has been covered up. The last stuff I found was that a unix app crashed due to unusually high network activity - but no-one explains what caused this network traffic.
This article was an early one which says that the Blaster workm was involved:
http://www.computerworld.com/printthis/2003/0,4814,84510,00.html
But MS seems to have avoided being generally known as the cause.
And of course, given Microsoft's track record and the compliance of the US government I don't trust them not to have worked very hard on covering up the fact that their software was a major part of the problem.