Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!gatech!uflorida!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
Message-ID: <2131@pdn.UUCP>
Date: 28 Jan 88 15:45:12 GMT
References: <4082@june.cs.washington.edu>
Reply-To: reggie@pdn.UUCP (George W. Leach)
Organization: Paradyne Corporation,   Largo FL
Lines: 37

In article <4082@june.cs.washington.edu> bnfb@june.cs.washington.edu (Bjorn Freeman-Benson) writes:

>What is the consensus about software vendors offering free upgrades
>and bug fixes?  

       Well, I would say that depends upon the nature of the release.  Often
the next release or upgrade of a software product contains a blend of bug
fixes and new features.  In some cases, those bug fixes are esential both to
the end customer, and to the viability of the vendor in the eyes of their
customers.  The features are nice to have and are probably viewed by the
vendor as essential to keep their customer base from going with a product
from the competition.

>If one were to say "buy the upgrades", then the engineering issues
>of quality and relability would become even more relevant.
>Furthermore, the usual practice of only supporting (in the training
>sense) the latest release, would be hard to justify.


       Another problem from the vendor's view point is supporting multiple
versions of a product.  In the ideal case a vendor would like all of their
customers to be working with the latest release, so that there is no need
to support older releases.  However, if the vendor is going to charge for
the upgrade, this may keep many from taking it.  


       Software is a funny commodity.  We are constantly trying to draw
comparisons with other industries/products in terms of engineering, production,
support, etc....  But it is fundamentally quite different from all other
products and processes.  It deserves it's own approach, but don't ask me how.


-- 
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