4 ms·

I did use technology before the iPhone, but I don't remember being as frustrated by it as I am now. The most frustrating thing is that we seem to be getting wo

by d2p 10y ago

I did use technology before the iPhone, but I don't remember being as frustrated by it as I am now. The most frustrating thing is that we seem to be getting worse, not better. We're not learning from mistakes, we're too busy churning out the next buggy release to review the mistakes in the last one :( When huge software companies like Google and Microsoft are churning out buggy crap, it's easy to see why others assume they can't do any better.

beeboop 10y ago
Maybe a recency bias. I have used computers since I was a kid, my earliest memories are Windows 95 but I am sure there was some before then too. I remember constant BSOD, constant application-crashing bugs with vague error messages, no ability to Google the solution to the problems you do have. Sometimes a game wouldn't work and there was really nothing you could do to even troubleshoot. I doubt we're getting worse. At worst, we're staying even as complexity grows tremendously. I would guess we're probably improving slightly despite insane growth in complexity. I would say that with great size, like Google and Microsoft, comes a greater difficulty in making bug-free products. Too small and you don't have the funding, but the sweet size is probably somewhere between a "small business" and "Google". Companies the size of Google have a lot of bureaucracy. They have a million products. They have thousands of developers. And in the end, the majority of the business doesn't even come from these glitchy products. It's understandable that noone is really up in arms over these bugs because upper management doesn't give a shit, and the developers only give a shit in so far that they aren't fired. Sometimes you'll have developers who care because of pride in their work, but they're the minority.
- gluggymug 10y ago
  In the good old days, you'd just turn it off then on again. The reason management doesn't care is that it isn't important. If a bug eventuates on a web page, the impact is minimal usually. There are contingencies if a FAQ page is blank like in the article example. The user can visit the contacts page and email their question. Crisis averted. Most of this web stuff is relatively trivial in terms of impact. I used to work in ASIC development where the impact of a bug is massive. Hence the verification effort and rigor should be much higher.
- beachstartup 10y ago
  it's not getting worse, we're just using software in so many more places today. seeing bugs is simply becoming more frequent.
  - d2p 10y ago
    This probably does explain a lot of it!
- chillacy 10y ago
  Or a case of Selective Perception: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_perception https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_perception When my friend was talking about buying a Prius, he saw Priuses everywhere for a few weeks. It's not that the Priuses weren't there before: it's just that he didn't notice them as much before.
threesixandnine 10y ago
Sorry but, ehm, no. Maybe you don't remember it but I surely do. A lot more "it just doesn't work" 20 years ago than today.
- d2p 10y ago
  Maybe I just didn't experience it the same. I never claimed this experience is everyones; I only write about my own :)

by d2p 10y ago

beeboop 10y ago

Maybe a recency bias. I have used computers since I was a kid, my earliest memories are Windows 95 but I am sure there was some before then too. I remember constant BSOD, constant application-crashing bugs with vague error messages, no ability to Google the solution to the problems you do have. Sometimes a game wouldn't work and there was really nothing you could do to even troubleshoot. I doubt we're getting worse. At worst, we're staying even as complexity grows tremendously. I would guess we're probably improving slightly despite insane growth in complexity. I would say that with great size, like Google and Microsoft, comes a greater difficulty in making bug-free products. Too small and you don't have the funding, but the sweet size is probably somewhere between a "small business" and "Google". Companies the size of Google have a lot of bureaucracy. They have a million products. They have thousands of developers. And in the end, the majority of the business doesn't even come from these glitchy products. It's understandable that noone is really up in arms over these bugs because upper management doesn't give a shit, and the developers only give a shit in so far that they aren't fired. Sometimes you'll have developers who care because of pride in their work, but they're the minority.

gluggymug 10y ago
In the good old days, you'd just turn it off then on again. The reason management doesn't care is that it isn't important. If a bug eventuates on a web page, the impact is minimal usually. There are contingencies if a FAQ page is blank like in the article example. The user can visit the contacts page and email their question. Crisis averted. Most of this web stuff is relatively trivial in terms of impact. I used to work in ASIC development where the impact of a bug is massive. Hence the verification effort and rigor should be much higher.
beachstartup 10y ago
it's not getting worse, we're just using software in so many more places today. seeing bugs is simply becoming more frequent.
- d2p 10y ago
  This probably does explain a lot of it!
chillacy 10y ago
Or a case of Selective Perception: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_perception https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_perception When my friend was talking about buying a Prius, he saw Priuses everywhere for a few weeks. It's not that the Priuses weren't there before: it's just that he didn't notice them as much before.

threesixandnine 10y ago

Sorry but, ehm, no. Maybe you don't remember it but I surely do. A lot more "it just doesn't work" 20 years ago than today.

d2p 10y ago
Maybe I just didn't experience it the same. I never claimed this experience is everyones; I only write about my own :)