Adam M. Dutko wrote:
when ford sold the pinto with the 'exploding' gas tank, it just paid money
out to settle claims after many people were burned to death. although i
don't believe there is a precedent for it, possibly until now, many software
companies have been doing the same thing: selling crap products that in
essence 'explode' and hemorrhage valuable personal data to script kiddies,
etc.
If we are to compare the nature of software to a physical product, we need
to remember a few things...
1) Proving software to be 100% correct is nearly impossible and in some
cases completely impossible. (think halting problem and state space
explosion)
I disagree with this. How many times a year are motor vehicles recalled?
They don't replace the car, they fix it.
Why can't defective software get a recall or a hefty fine if they refuse
to fix it? This is a major reason I walked away from the paid software
world, impossible to pay for quality.
2) Physical products often have a calculable degradation curve whereas given
consistent conditions, software does not "deteriorate" in a way that is
easily quantifiable. It does "degrade" under different conditions but see
point #1 for another problem.
3) Even the best tested and mathematically proven software (think IBM space
shuttle code) has bugs. I forget the exact cost because I don't have the
paper nearby but the per line cost of the shuttle code was astronomical! If
all software cost as much per line, no one would own a computer, except
maybe governments and multi-billionaires.
Almost all physical devices come in models, which the next one usually
fixes the defects. Software is very easy to fix the same model. So I see
software as much simpler to improve on.
There are other points but I'm sure you get the gist... I'm glad I have a
job, even if it means being a "high-priced" janitor.
