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From: mcgrant@elaine23.stanford.edu (Michael Grant)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: ROM versions and upgrades
Message-ID: <1991Feb5.004837.27844@portia.Stanford.EDU>
Date: 5 Feb 91 00:48:37 GMT
References: <633148B940000929@gacvx2.gac.edu> <25590099@hpcvra.cv.hp.com.>
Sender: news@portia.Stanford.EDU (Mr News)
Organization: Stanford University - AIR
Lines: 28

>> So my questions really are:
>> 
>>  1) Why were revision A machines sold at all?  The usual purpose
>>     of this kind of pre-release testing is to kill as many bugs
>>     as possible before the software (or firmware) is actually
>>     released for sale.

As a software developer, I know that even when you try very hard to make
your program error-free, and you give it out to people to test out,
end up feeling confident in your work, and send it out into the world, only
to find that casual users have been stymied by an insanely simple bug.
Bugs just don't get FOUND, they get DISCOVERED; hence, when they don't
show themselves until you stop looking for them.

It's Murphy's law rearing it's ugly ahead once more.

You've really got to give the people at HP a break.  Indeed, it is quite
frustrating to be playing with your calculator/computer only to have it
crash, or give an incorrect result--especially when the stakes are high--
but you have to keep reminding yourself that basically, you are running
a program, and, just like ANY program, it is not very likely to be bug-free,
no matter HOW long they beta-tested it.

Remember, we're not talking about a simple ALU chip hooked up to a few
registers and a keyboard, we are talking about a full-fledged computer
in a tiny box.  I remember the first Macs, the first IBMS...

Michael C. Grant