4 ms·

Partially, I think, this is due to fast and ubiquotous internet. I remember the days when games were sold on physical media, played single player on a nost of t

by hef19898 3y ago

Partially, I think, this is due to fast and ubiquotous internet. I remember the days when games were sold on physical media, played single player on a nost of the time offline computer. Same for other software, updates and patches were cumbersome and expensive. Hence, software had to be complete when shipped. Fast forward, today everything can be patched and fixed OTA. It seems that possibility made it possible to ship pre-Beta stuff. That all those OTA updates are an additional revenue stream didn't help.

Silhouette 3y ago
I am absolutely certain you're right. The forcing function to achieve a respectable level of quality before you ship isn't there in an always-online world. The other big factor IMHO is the amount of speculative money that has poured into the industry in recent times. That has allowed a lot of businesses to survive for longer than they naturally could despite shipping junk and that in turn has taught users/customers that expecting better software is unrealistic. Even most unicorn tech businesses (FAANG etc.) still produce a lot of junk and little that is any good - relative to the almost unimaginable scale of resources they have available - because usually they reached that unicorn status by having one or at most a few massive successes that they can defend and that then subsidise all the bad decisions and junk products just as effectively as VC funding rounds.
- hef19898 3y ago
  Couldn't agree more. We can lament all day long so, it won't change, will it? When it comes to stuff like that, I feel old!
  - Silhouette 3y ago
    I find it's good to work outside the bubble of modern web/SAAS development from time to time. It doesn't always pay as well but it does maintain a sense of perspective and an awareness of what is possible. Changing cultures is hard but working somewhere with a healthier culture can be easier.

Silhouette 3y ago

I am absolutely certain you're right. The forcing function to achieve a respectable level of quality before you ship isn't there in an always-online world. The other big factor IMHO is the amount of speculative money that has poured into the industry in recent times. That has allowed a lot of businesses to survive for longer than they naturally could despite shipping junk and that in turn has taught users/customers that expecting better software is unrealistic. Even most unicorn tech businesses (FAANG etc.) still produce a lot of junk and little that is any good - relative to the almost unimaginable scale of resources they have available - because usually they reached that unicorn status by having one or at most a few massive successes that they can defend and that then subsidise all the bad decisions and junk products just as effectively as VC funding rounds.

hef19898 3y ago
Couldn't agree more. We can lament all day long so, it won't change, will it? When it comes to stuff like that, I feel old!
- Silhouette 3y ago
  I find it's good to work outside the bubble of modern web/SAAS development from time to time. It doesn't always pay as well but it does maintain a sense of perspective and an awareness of what is possible. Changing cultures is hard but working somewhere with a healthier culture can be easier.