There are many problems with software. It is hard to use. Software can also be unsafe and unreliable. What is a user to do? Stand up for your rights. You pay for software. Make developers earn their pay.Bad software is caused by two main problems – programmer deficiencies and user actions. Programmers often do not know their customers. They have weak user interface design skills. They also don’t know how to do web programming.
Security is a major weakness for programmers. They just don’t know security well enough to produce solid code. Programmers rely on cool new technologies instead of tried and true techniques. Couple that with users who do not secure their machines. The result is chaos.
Not all software sucks. Google is good at user interfaces. Their software is mainly available on the web. Microsoft also has some good software. They handle auto updates well. That leads me to some things users can do to improve software quality. They should turn on automatic updates.
Programmers need to change to produce good software. They must conduct usability testing. This includes testing of web sites. Make it easy for users to provide feedback. Let users choose whatever ID and password they want. Just don’t display the password in plain text.
Users are not blameless in the software debacle. They must demand better software. Help developers by reporting bugs and participating in beta releases. Call up customer service if you encounter problems. Vote with your wallet. If software sucks, don’t buy it. Conduct research before you buy software. Check out the reviews. If software sucks, let the world know.
