gofar99 Messages: 1955 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi Everyone, What are your thoughts on software that is constantly needing updates. If it wasn't so complicated and trying to be the Swiss Army Knife of all things it might not have to be fixed every week. There are a number of programs and operating systems that fit into the fix it all the time group...I won't mention names but about half the time they fix something and create a bigger issue with other programs. Nearly as bad as the bloating effect. I may be dating myself. ..but I remember when the operating system fit on a single floppy disk. I didn't need an I7 PC with massive RAM and SSD. All this was brought to the top of my bad list as I had to replace my main PC. Fortunately everything was backed up, but the new one went through several hours of updates to a supposed to be current operating system. And then it crashed a couple of the main programs I use all the time and decided it didn't need to talk to all my peripherals. The PC itself is actually just fine (an Alienware Aurora). It works like expected. Just the software is flawed. OK, I'll get off the soap box now.
Wayne Parham Messages: 18793 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
It's not even just software - it's internet connected devices too.
The reason companies do this is to try and be fast out the door, usually fast onto the shelf but sometimes just fast to ass a new feature. They are trying to stay competitive, but I think it often backfires. People get frustrated, just like you've described.
Both you and I are manufacturers. We both know the development lifecycle. We've both been manufacturing since before software/firmware updates through the internet was possible. So to you and I - We are both keenly aware of the necessity of complete testing and device hardening before a product leaves our facilities and gets into the customers hands.
But engineers of the millennial generation don't think this way. They think they can always push features and even bugfixes onto their devices remotely. So they heavily truncate the R&D cycle. That's one reason why so much stuff sucks these days. That and the push for features without much regard for hardening.
I agree that there's clearly a paradigm shift in the way of thinking and as mentioned, current engineers see things very differently. Those updates are very annoying and the developers should now know better.
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There are a number of programs and operating systems that fit into the fix it all the time group...I won't mention names but about half the time they fix something and create a bigger issue with other programs. Nearly as bad as the bloating effect. I may be dating myself. 
..but I remember when the operating system fit on a single floppy disk. I didn't need an I7 PC with massive RAM and SSD. All this was brought to the top of my bad list as I had to replace my main PC. Fortunately everything was backed up, but the new one went through several hours of updates to a supposed to be current operating system. And then it crashed a couple of the main programs I use all the time and decided it didn't need to talk to all my peripherals. The PC itself is actually just fine (an Alienware Aurora). It works like expected. Just the software is flawed. OK, I'll get off the soap box now. 
