Glitches of the Week

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Saturday, December 16 5:54 AM SGT

Glitches of the Week MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 2000 DEC 15 (NB) -- By Leonard Lee, Newsbytes. This is a weekly column from Newsbytes featuring the latest in the weird, bizarre, and unfortunate when it comes to technology.

New Amtrak Fast Train Whistles To A Stop

Amtrak's new high-speed train had a successful debut this week, but was a no-show for its curtain call. The new Acela Express cut nearly two hours off the normal travel time from Boston to Washington, DC, in its first day of operation on Monday. The Acela hits a top speed of more than 150 miles an hour. But after the completion of Monday's trip, Amtrak engineers found minor damage to the pantograph – the metal bar that connects the train to its overhead electrical lines. The gear was repaired, but not quite in time for the train's 5 a.m. scheduled departure time on Tuesday. A conventional Metroliner was substituted, but that locomotive broke down near Bridgeport, Connecticut. Passengers finally reached Boston about two hours late, and Amtrak provided them with refunds. The Acela Express was back in service in time to race up to Boston to pick up passengers for the afternoon return trip to Washington. The French-Canadian high-speed train is the first of twenty that Amtrak hopes to purchase for use in the heavily traveled Northeast Corridor.

Horse Race Cancelled Because Of Nagging Glitch

TAB Queensland racing officials were forced to cancel an Australian horse race after it had started because a computer problem ruined the race's start, as reported by the Australasian Business Intelligence. The deputy starter of the Dec. 13 race called it to a halt after the race had begun when it became apparent that something was wrong with the electronic starting system. The gates holding back the horses opened seconds after the bell had sounded signaling the start of the race. Because several horses ran a significant distance before they could be stopped, officials decided it would be unfair to restart the race. Totalisator Administration Board Queensland, the government-owned corporation that is licensed to operate totalisator and fixes the odds for betting on Australian sports events lost an estimated 150,000 Australian dollars in betting revenue because of the cancellation.

Wrong Students Offered Tutoring

In an attempt to encourage students to get outside academic help, the Minneapolis school district sent letters to 1,700 African-American male students and their families. Almost 700 of those notices were sent to students who did not need academic tutelage. According to Suzanne Kelly, executive director of public affairs for Minneapolis public schools, the error was an honest mistake. The letter was intended for seventh- and eighth-grade students who, based on based on test scores used to track achievement, were not projected to pass the state's standardized test. "When the mailing labels were being generated, the number of students who were not projected to pass should have been separated from the entire group of students," said Kelly. "But labels were generated for entire group rather than just the subset." The letters were to encourage their recipients to get involved in a program specifically designed to help African-American males prepare to take Minnesota's standardized test.

Concerns by parents were raised about racial targeting in the school district. "We've got a tremendous concern in this district for the achievement of African-American students because their performance on standardized tests have been proportionately low. We've been trying to get them the help they need," said Kelly. "This programs has proven successful in the past. Although our effort has been cast by some as racial profiling, our intent was one to help." The school district was made aware of the mistake when a parent complained. Students who were accidentally sent the letter have since been mailed an apology.

Employers Delinquent Only On Paper

About 1,000 employers in West Virginia were told that they were late on their workers' compensation premiums, due on Oct. 1, even though they had paid them. According to Cindy Grinstead director of communications for West Virginia's Bureau of Employment Programs, the problem was linked to a processing error at Mellon Financial Corp, the company that prepares quarterly reports for the bureau. "Something happened in their system, and for whatever reason the quarterly report didn't have those employers entered as having paid," said Grinstead. The error was discovered by the bureau about the same time that they began receiving inquiries from employers who received incorrect delinquency notices. "We noticed that for some reason things weren't matching up," said Grinstead. "There was no problem with the money portion. The payments were deposited, according to the treasurer's office. Just the actual data didn't get into the computer system for some reason." http://asia.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/technology/article.html?s=asia/headlines/001216/technology/newsbytes/Glitches_of_the_Week.html

-- Carl Jenkins (somewherepress@aol.com), December 16, 2000


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