>Hi Tom --
>
>I liked your CD player analogy -- I too like new gadgets, like to see progress, etc. But, I also own only a 1-CD changer. It works great, and is easy to use.
>
>In my early years as a programmer, I would have been fired if I produced software with as many bugs as we see these days (e.g. from Microsoft, but others as well). But the complexity has grown so much, there is no way that a large application now can ever be bug-free and never fail. I guess that's the price of 'progress'.

Pete;

Seems like in the days when Ronald Reagan worked for GE, their motto was “Progress is our business. Our only business” . Reagan was the President of the Screen Actors Guild and got the job at GE by promising to reduce costs by 10%. He fulfilled his promise by having a suitable number of people fired to equal the 10% figure. One thing about Reagan - he knew how to keep a promise.

As for software, I liked WordStar. It did everything I need to do as a word processor. The damn paper clip from Word bugs me to no end! “Oh, you want to write a letter”? No – go to HELL you damn paper clip! Progress takes many forms and many views. One mans vision becomes the focus for all. Perhaps not everyone wants to follow the same path. We have to follow or go elsewhere – like stamp collecting!

I fully realize we have to have a path with software development. It is just that Bill Gates is like the little kid who owned the ball. Do it my way or I will take my ball and go home! We have few choices. :)

Tom