Denys, your quote is indeed thought provoking. ("All companies that made
100% stable products lost their business to the
folks who made 95% stable products with more capabilities.")

However after struggling with the software provided with my Rio 600 MP3
player, and finally after months being turned onto some shareware called
MusicMatch - the cynic in me would have to lower that 95% estimate by 50%.

You see the Rio software was supposed to pick up mp3 files and transfer them
via USB to the device.

However any nitwit at that company who actually would have tried to use it
would have discovered it was very buggy, and should never have been
released.

We can all point to successful (in the market place) software that makes one
wonder just who, if anybody, tested it?

I'd have to modify that statement to say regrettably most successful
software is market driven and stability or reliability takes a very distant
2nd place. Or perhaps that applies mostly to Wintel software. Who can
promise the most?

I'll have to say a few years ago I wrote some software for a specific app -
tested and tested  - for 2 years - and by the time I deemed it ready for the
market Windows had taken over. It was, and probably still is, the most
reliable and deep software for that specific app. But I forgot about
marketing. It really isn't enough to build a better mousetrap.

My opinion FWIW.

Bill Brandt

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