Previously this column pointed out some problems associated with spell-checking software and how even the best programs have trouble with homonyms.

While watching the news one night I heard one of the commentators use a phrase so profound I had to jump up from where I was sitting to quickly find a pen and paper so I could write it down.

The new administration in Washington D.C. is moving to address an issue important to many. Angry and frustrated consumers have flocked to Apple’s App Store to download the “Ice Check” app to get real-time updates on the locations of working McDonald’s ice cream machines.

Continuing with last week’s tale, what is this mysterious thing that can cause a computer malfunction that almost made an airliner fall from the sky, and could also causing intermittent and unexplainable behavior of your computer or smartphone?

Last week the subject of this column was digital forensics, and a discussion of what is involved in investigating the causes of a computer malfunction.

As a computer technicianthere is a question I hear repeated practically every day.  After fixing any information technology problem, as regular as clockwork, I can depend on the client asking, “What happened?” or “Why did that happen?”