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Are Complex Games Doomed To Have Buggy Releases?
An anonymous reader points out a recent article at Gamesradar discussing the frequency of major bugs and technical issues in freshly-released video games. While such issues are often fixed with updates, questions remain about the legality and ethics of rushing a game to launch. Quoting:
"As angry as you may be about getting a buggy title, would you want the law to get involved? Meglena Kuneva, EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner, is putting forward legislation that would legally oblige digital game distributors to give refunds for games, putting games in the same category in consumer law as household appliances. ... This call to arms has been praised by tech expert Andy Tanenbaum, author of books like Operating Systems: Design and Implementation. 'I think the idea that commercial software be judged by the same standards as other commercial products is not so crazy,' he says. 'Cars, TVs, and telephones are all expected to work, and they are full of software. Why not standalone software? I think such legislation would put software makers under pressure to first make sure their software works, then worry about more bells and whistles.'"
suppose this whole thing began a couple of years ago. Now it's completely out of control. At some point cell phones captured the collective consciousness of computer users. Now they're all anyone talks about anymore.
I noticed this phenomenon on a recent podcast I was asked to take part in. The show was supposed to be broadly about tech--computers specifically--but 90 percent of the conversation revolved around the mobile phone, the issues with new handsets, in particular.
The trend is horrid, but it's not it's not the trend that bothers me. What annoys me is the fact that there is little talk about anything other than hardware features. People talk about the screen, the keyboard, the On and Off button, the layout of the icons, etc. etc. Nobody ever talks about the lame applications. Wait, did I say "lame?" Actually, maybe that's the reason.
Can you imagine if these were the key talking points with computers? Can you imagine endless chatter about the display and the keyboard? That was the case with the PS/2 of computers that was released by IBM. People constantly complained about the fuzzy CRT display. But that didn't last long. It certainly didn't go on for years, that's for sure.
So, what are we left with? An entire industry caught up in mobile phone gossip. It's vapid.
Now I understand that the mobile phone is a new computing platform. But where is the VisiCalc--that killer app that demands I adopt one mobile OS? There isn't one. There are plenty of games, PDF readers, and gimmicky demonstrations, but there really isn't anything out there that compels anyone to choose a specific handset.
The phone itself is the killer app. Yes, I can make a call. That's sort of why I have a mobile phone in the first place. So, why do I need an iPhone again?
I've pondered this as I've watched people play with their iPhones. The primary reason to get one is for random Web browsing (which iPhone owners generally do to show off the fact that they can browse the Web on their handset) or time-wasting. The latter seems to be the main use of cell phones these days. I include phone calls in that category. Honestly, how much time does any one person need to yak on the phone? Nearly every time I overhear a phone conversation, the chit-chat is almost always inane, useless, unnecessary.
And when people are not too busy needlessly chattering on the phone, they're sending messages to all of their friends for no apparent reason. Every so often there's a TV story about some idiot who racked up an absurd bill by sending 10,000 text messages in one month. How is that even possible?
When they're not on the phone or texting, the person is probably goofing around on the phone. In the old days when people were standing in line or otherwise waiting for something, they'd read a book or knit or meditate. Now they fool around on the phone. And any phone will do. They play games, sort messages, look for new apps. In other words, they waste time. Really, the iPhone is only the greatest handset around because it has more ways to waste time than any phone, ever.
With the economy in the tank, this is probably as good a use of idle time as anything. But let's face it, this whole phone thing is about wasting time. Productivity gains and other rationalizations are bogus excuses for what is really going on here.
Cell phones are ruining the country. The economy has tanked in proportion to the growing popularity of the iPhone. This is no coincidence, as far as I'm concerned. This is only going to get worse as we're programmed to waste more time. The proof, to me, is the endless chatter about cell phones themselves that I mentioned earlier.
Look around you. See how people are wasting time on their phones and in general. We need to refocus on the desktop computer, a device that did indeed improve productivity. We need to stop looking at, talking about, and reviewing these phones. In fact, let's just stop using them!
Yes, I'm sure my suggestions won't be taken seriously. In fact, the exact opposite will happen the more and more we become obsessed with these devices. Maybe a killer app will arise and make my complaints moot. Sadly, I don't see one on the horizon.
There, I wrote that !!
Mr Tanenbaum, as I have told you in an email, modern CPUs lack any hardware support for modules within a process! that's a major flaw that does not allow for proper isolation of modules within a process.
You said that "it will be a hard sell to hardware manufacturers" when I proposed you to promote this idea. But it's so easy to make! the hardware extensions required for modules within a process are minimal - mostly extensions to page tables; existing software needs not be modified!
Of course, this is not a panacea, but it is certainly a step in the right direction...