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Hype Vaporware, Go To Jail?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the does-what-it-says-on-the-tin dept.

Tim Dierks writes "The New York Times (registration required) has an article describing a federal case against executives in Enron's broadband data division, based upon the charge that Enron claimed that a software platform was more complete and more functional than it actually was. It seems to be that if this case holds up, most of the software industry is guilty. Would the world be better off or not if it was illegal to overpromote the functionality or features of software?"

7 of 369 comments (clear)

  1. Duke by GhostChe · · Score: 5, Funny

    Guess Duke Nukem Forever is really screwed...

    1. Re:Duke by Spectre · · Score: 5, Funny

      I find it amusing that you abbreviated "Duke Nukem Forever" as DNF ... when that is a common race abbreviation for "Did Not Finish" ...

      --
      "Flame away, I wear asbestos underwear"
  2. No big deal by ENOENT · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's just the executives who go to jail. That's one of the risks that go along with the insane salaries, bonuses, interest free loans that get forgiven when they become inconvient, stock options, etc.

    Of course, if there were any real justice, every person in every marketing department everywhere would be forced to use nothing but vaporware to create their copy...

    --
    That's "Mr. Soulless Automaton" to you, Bub.
  3. Weekly Staff Meetings by dfn5 · · Score: 5, Funny
    I do this all the time in my weekly staff meetings.

    Boss: How is that <insert latest project here> coming?
    Me: Oh, I'm almost done
    My Brain: Mental note. Start that damn project

    --
    -- Thou hast strayed far from the path of the Avatar.
  4. Makes sense... by jabbadabbadoo · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...now that Enron itself turned out to be a vaporfirm.

  5. Hmmm... by M.C.+Hampster · · Score: 5, Funny
    Would the world be better off or not if it was illegal to overpromote the functionality or features of software?

    Only if it's illegal to say that drinking a certain type of beer is going to get you more women.

    --
    Forget the whales - save the babies.
  6. Politicians are scre*wd now...... by DailyGrind · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hey,

    Is the software industry the only one that "overpromotes"?

    see any weapons of mass distraction yet?

    --
    You will have to pry my proprietary software $$$ from my cold dead hands!