Computer system outages can cost some serious money...just ask Delta.

The numbers are in - and it's amazing how much a five hour system outage can cost!

The problem occurred when the company lost power at its operations center in Atlanta early on the morning of August 8, causing computers needed to book in passengers and fly jets to be down for nearly five hours.

The airline eventually canceled about 1,000 flights on the day of the outage and ground an additional 1,000 flights over the following two days. It also agreed to give affected customers refunds and vouchers for future travel.

The cost of the outage was disclosed in a presentation Delta made to investors Wednesday to the tune of $150 million. The losses came out of pre-tax profits, but the airline did not provide a break down of the various costs.

Delta is not the only airline to experience these kinds of computer problems recently.

British Airways was hit with its own computer problems on Tuesday. Southwest had to deal with a computer outage in July that resulted in canceled flights over three days.

Southwest said in an investor presentation on Wednesday that the outage hurt its quarterly revenue. The airline didn't place a precise dollar figure, but it did give ratios that would work out to at least a $177 million hit to passenger revenue.

Despite the news about the cost of the outages, and information from both airlines that fares continue to be lower than they were a year ago, airline stocks are up broadly as a group in trading Wednesday. The data on fares showed less of a decline than many investors had feared.

Clearly system outages cost some serious money. If you want to protect your business' important computer systems, call IES today at 781-816-9437 or email contactus@iesadvisors.com. We can help you prevent a costly outage.

Google seeks test subjects for new smart glasses. What's the catch? You have to pay them $1,500!

Google has announced that it plans to release a small number of Google Glass products....the glasses that do everything. (As they should for a whopping $1,500 + tax).

Interested in becoming a tester (or "explorer" as Google puts it)? In order to be a Glass tester, you need to get noticed. How? Of course through social media. But that's not all you need. If selected, you'll have to cough up $1,500 (plus applicable taxes) and attend a "special pick-up experience," in person, in New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles (at your expense).

Definitely a great piece of technology anyone would want to have. But personally, at $1,500 for just a test pair, I'll pass.

From the Google Glass website:
We’re looking for bold, creative individuals who want to join us and be a part of shaping the future of Glass. We’d love to make everyone an Explorer, but we’re starting off a bit smaller. We’re still in the early stages, and while we can’t promise everything will be perfect, we can promise it will be exciting

Using Google+ or Twitter, tell us what you would do if you had Glass, starting with the hashtag #ifihadglass.

• Your application must be 50 words or less
• You must include #ifihadglass in your application
• You can include up to 5 photos with your application
• You can include a short video (15 secs max)
• Be sure to follow us on Google+ (+ProjectGlass) or Twitter (@projectglass) so that we can contact you directly
• You must be at least 18 years old and live in the U.S. to apply
• For more details, please see our full Terms and FAQ

Source: Google Glass

New iPad sticker shock:

The new iPad Fourth-Generation comes in at $799, with the cellular enabled one hitting $929; just under $1,000.

Sure, the storage capacity is 128GB. But it has all of the same features as before, including a 9.7-inch Retina Display, a FaceTime HD camera, and an A6X processor. All that was upgraded was the storage! Are you serious, Apple?

Read the full story here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57566376-37/apple-ipad-jumps-to-128gb-starting-at-$799