lishka@uwslh.slh.wisc.edu (a.k.a. Chri) (03/15/91)
akcs.jdn@hpcvbbs.UUCP (John D. Nguyen) writes: >[...] >I think Bob Peraino (the person who started on the subject of people >"whining") is missing the point when he stated that he didn't expect >software company to give him free upgrades just because the latest >version is better. First, the 48SX is not software, it's a calculator >when you strip all the fancy I/O, displays, etc. out of it. People >depend on this tool to be absolutely correct. I think many people might be missing the point that while the HP48SX is marketed as a calculator, it incorporates software that is found in a standard PC. That is, the software is on the order of complexity of something like Mathematica, DBase, Lotus/Excel/Quattro, Minitab/Systat, etc. It is well near impossible to get all of the bugs out of software as large and complex as this! It takes too long, requires to many man-years, and when someone thinks all of the bugs are out another one pops up. Those who want the HP48SX to be perfectly bug-free should go out and read the literature on software testing and verification. Then read the literature on computer-related risks (comp.risks is a good place to start). You will soon find out that no large software project is ever completely "bug-free". And that it is well near impossible to make it so. So although HP can possibly be faulted for not planning on an efficient upgrade policy, possibly for not informing enough users of the exiting known bugs (although *I* received a bug list with my Rev. A HP48SX, and Mr. Wickes *did* post a list of Rev. D bugs), and possibly for not including a disclaimer stating that the software may not be bug-free. But expecting the HP48SX software (which is on the order of 256k of mixed ML and RPL) to be completely bug-free is very naive. THE OPERATING SYSTEM AND SYSTEM SOFTWARE OF THE HP48SX IS INDEED SOFTWARE, AND WILL PROBABLY *NEVER* BE COMPLETELY BUG-FREE. There will always be at least a small bug or two. It has been my experience with programming and using large software systems that the HP48SX is *extremely* well tested. For evidence of this, just talk to users of DBase IV 1.0 (and even DBase IV 1.1), DOS 4.00, and countless other programs (sometimes costing over twice as much as an HP48SX). The bugs in popular large software packages are many times numerous, showing how the few bugs present in the HP48SX are a testament to HP's excellent software testing. >Since HP knows (or should >anyway) how much harder it is to replace the firmware inside the 48SX, >they should've waited. The calculator would not only be "better", it >would be more ACCURATE. >[...] It seems to me that this is like saying, "Since Fox Software knows about bugs in their FoxPro product, and that upgrading is going to be costly because of all of the free disks they need to send out, then they shouldn't release FoxPro until it is bug-free." If every company had that attitude, there would be little interesting software out there. HP *did* provide a direct upgrade path for Rev. [ABC] owners, and Rev. D owners whose work is impaired by a bug can get an upgrade too (from what I have heard). "Hindsight is 20/20." Yes, HP *NOW* probably knows how hard it is to replace the firmware. I would be surprised if this new knowledge *ISN'T* figured into future products (as in replacable ROMs, or, as some other intelligent netter suggested, a plug-in Operating System ROM-card). Continually flaming HP for their past mistake doesn't seem to me to be terribly useful anymore. Furthermore, complaining about the bugs in the HP48SX seems petty to me because of (a) the reasons I gave above, and (b) the upgrade policy that HP has. Can't we get on to better topics? By the way, the opinions expressed above are my own. I am nothing but a satisfied user of the HP48SX who has some dealings in the past with HP (most notably in porting USRLIB to the Amiga). .oO Chris Oo. -- Christopher Lishka 608-262-4485 It is not safe out here. It is wonderous, Wisconsin State Lab. of Hygiene with treasures to satiate desires both lishka@uwslh.slh.wisc.edu subtle and gross. But it is not for the uunet!uwvax!uwslh!lishka timid. -- Q