But as you said, there arent enough hours in the day to do all the exta stuff. It costs extra to do this work, especially in the same time the work can be done with out it.
Forget the idea that science, good technology, or the right thing runs the world. Economics do. The almighty buck runs the show. Short sighted places will cut corners to make money, and long sighted ones will too, but to a lesser degree.
As things stand right now, Pharmaceutical companies and iron workers are forced to do what they do by rules and regulations imposed by the government, and a history of law suits, etc that were levied against the industries when they were younger and didnt play by the rules they do now. They wouldn't do it unless forced. It costs extra, alot extra, and unless everyone on the market place is forced to do the same thing, those that pay the extra amount to institute those safeguards are penalized by reduced market effectiveness, loss of competitive edge, and loss of profits. They are forced to charge more than their competitors, as they have to do much more work.
Asking companies to tie one hand behind their back in the fight for profits is ludicrious, and wont happen with out software development being turned into a regulated thing, like construction or the medical industry.
And while I cant say that this would be a bad thing, nor will I say its a good thing. You might not like it when the next version of office you buy costs 10K.
If companies got sued, fined, and otherwise penalized for not doing good work, they would be forced to do good work. but they aren't. They make things that are the least amount of work to get the job done, because that is the cheapest point they can shoot for. If every time Netscape crashed they got sued for breach of contract, there would be much more incentive for the company to try to do good work. As it is, there is really no significant results from doing bad work, as long as you pass a certain point of quality and dont turn away too many customers.
Unfortunately, neither good science, good technologies, nor good intentions rules the world. Economics is why good ideas dont go anywhere, and why mediocre ones excel.
Slashdot Mirror
Forget the idea that science, good technology, or the right thing runs the world. Economics do. The almighty buck runs the show. Short sighted places will cut corners to make money, and long sighted ones will too, but to a lesser degree.
As things stand right now, Pharmaceutical companies and iron workers are forced to do what they do by rules and regulations imposed by the government, and a history of law suits, etc that were levied against the industries when they were younger and didnt play by the rules they do now. They wouldn't do it unless forced. It costs extra, alot extra, and unless everyone on the market place is forced to do the same thing, those that pay the extra amount to institute those safeguards are penalized by reduced market effectiveness, loss of competitive edge, and loss of profits. They are forced to charge more than their competitors, as they have to do much more work.
Asking companies to tie one hand behind their back in the fight for profits is ludicrious, and wont happen with out software development being turned into a regulated thing, like construction or the medical industry.
And while I cant say that this would be a bad thing, nor will I say its a good thing. You might not like it when the next version of office you buy costs 10K.
If companies got sued, fined, and otherwise penalized for not doing good work, they would be forced to do good work. but they aren't. They make things that are the least amount of work to get the job done, because that is the cheapest point they can shoot for. If every time Netscape crashed they got sued for breach of contract, there would be much more incentive for the company to try to do good work. As it is, there is really no significant results from doing bad work, as long as you pass a certain point of quality and dont turn away too many customers.
Unfortunately, neither good science, good technologies, nor good intentions rules the world. Economics is why good ideas dont go anywhere, and why mediocre ones excel.
-sbos