Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!burl!codas!usfvax2!pdn!reggie
From: reggie@pdn.UUCP (George W. Leach)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Free Upgrades and Bug Fixes -- A Policy Question
Summary: Appropriate Discussion Topics
Message-ID: <2134@pdn.UUCP>
Date: 29 Jan 88 00:03:55 GMT
References: <4082@june.cs.washington.edu> <3850003@wdl1.UUCP>
Reply-To: reggie@pdn.UUCP (George W. Leach)
Organization: Paradyne Corporation,   Largo FL
Lines: 52

In article <3850003@wdl1.UUCP> rion@wdl1.UUCP (Rion Cassidy) writes:
>Bjorn Freeman-Benson writes:
>
>>What is the consensus about software vendors offering free upgrades
>>and bug fixes?  
>
>First I want to say that I don't feel that this topic is entirely in
>keeping  with the theme of this newsgroup, but then neither is the
>subject of office cubicles and it drew some attention as well.

      Perhaps it is stretching it a bit.  It seems more like a marketing
question, but if you must use software products yourself that you buy
from vendors, eg. compilers, database systems, etc...., then it is an
appropriate topic for discussion here.

      The subject of office cubicles and offices damn does belong here!
It has a direct impact upon programmer productivity, which is one of the
primary buzzwords in the software engineering world :-)

>
>Upgrades and bug fixes are not the same thing and should not be lumped
>together like this; if you are going to make analogies, seperate them
>and make individual analogies.  Lots of retail products have been
>subject to recalls.  This is usually when the manufacturer just plain
>blew it and made something dangerous or extremely defective.  I would
>equate this to bug fixes and note that the consumer virtually never
>has to pay anything during a recall.

     Oh, really?  While I agree that certain bugs do get immediate 
attention due to the fact that a customer can not function without a
fix, many bugs have to wait for the next release to be corrected and
the customer must live with it until them.


>
>Since this column is software engineering, let me just say that if
>software was being developed properly, there wouldn't be obvious bugs
>that need fixing in the first place!!!

      And pray tell, how can we all accomplish this state oh wise one?

>Rion Cassidy
>Ford Aerospace
 ^^^^

     Ford -> Quality is Job 1, right :-)

-- 
George W. Leach					Paradyne Corporation
{gatech,rutgers,attmail}!codas!pdn!reggie	Mail stop LF-207
Phone: (813) 530-2376				P.O. Box 2826
						Largo, FL  34649-2826