Trojans in the computer were not a factor. The R5 relay which senses nose gear strut extention failed causing the logic to say the aircraft was airborn. It inhibited the takeoff warning and also caused the TAT probe to be heated on the ground. This caused the return for maintenance and disabling the TAT also disabling the takeoff warning system. In their attempt to expedite their departure they failed to set the flaps. That is what happened. I had that happen to me one night. The strobe lights were flashing on taxi and the power was at flight idle. I knew why the strobes were flashing so hit the brakes to compress the nose strut and everything returned to normal. I did not realise that the takeoff warning was also inop. The MD80 had a lot of faulty switches when it first came out. We got the first batch and had a lot of false warnings.