Unlimited software warranties

[Peter da Silva]

Don't mind me... I'm just poking holes in the software=autos analogy. If
you don't care hit n now...

In article <8085 at rsiatl.Dixie.Com> jgd at Dixie.Com (John G. DeArmond) writes:
> I assert just the opposite.  A properly designed product, properly documented
> will not need massive support.  Let's use the automotive industry for a 
> comparison.

Well, I don't consider this really a valid comparison. The simplest operating
system is so much more complex a product, with so much more complex a user
interface, than any automobile. But, granting that...

> To wit, the "welded hood" concept 
> (The hood is conceptually welded shut, therefore no maintenance is necessary
> or performed.) has pushed car quality to the point that on average, a car
> will last long enough with little enough maintenance that the auto companies
> must find other ways to get you to spend more money on cars.

I don't know what sort of cars you drive, or how you define "long enough",
but I find this description of the level of automotive technology pretty
much a fantasy. If you don't mind buying a new car every 2-3 years, I guess
that's valid. I, personally, do mind. I expect to get at least 7 years out
of a car... so I do *all* the required maintanance, change the oil twice
the recommended period, check the fluids, and so on.

I haven't been disappointed yet.

But cars wear out. Software doesn't... and upgrades are a whole different
ball game. Most people don't want to upgrade. It's a major operation to
pull your local mods out, change the software out, and put them back. Even
when we get the upgrades regularly we tend to avoid installing them unless
we *know* we have a problem that the upgrade will fix.

Solution (:->): built-in problems. Debugging "upgrades".

> 	   Cars                                       Software
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Needs regular purchases by                      Low cost upgrade policies
>     repeat customers encouraged by
> 	trade in allowances.

This is how they get that "welded hood" concept. Coerce car owners into
buying a new car years before they should have to.

> Consumers' desire for bells, whistles           Same
> 	and gadgets at low cost.

Me? Many "bells and whistles" have a negative cost. One of the primary
reasons I bought my current car was because it was missing one of those
annoying bells and whistles: motorised passive seatbelts. And I made
the dealer buy that stupid cheesy stereo back.

> No obvious defects or design flaws              No major bugs and certainly
> 	(fixed at no cost if they slip in)            no software-induced system
>                                                   crashes.

I'll go along with this one... but that's not the same as an unconditional
money-back guarantee.

> Established engineering, design,
>     manufacturing and QA/QC
> 	methodologies.

Like the ones that produced Chrysler's latest minivan transmission problems,
is that what you're thinking of?
-- 
Peter da Silva.  `-_-'  peter at ferranti.com
+1 713 274 5180.  'U`  "Have you hugged your wolf today?"