In Beta

I remember when I was a kid, in the '50's, people returning from Europe and other parts of the world bragged about how everything worked here -- we were the technology leaders.  But now days, it seems that nothing works.  The world has become a giant vending machine, the only way you can get anything from it is to kick it on its side.  And then you get mostly junk.  When asked, the developers and techs have a pat reply "its in beta."  That lets them off the hook.  It's like telling us that we should have known the program wouldn't work when we opened it.  I think I'll develop a tele-portation device that will get you from New York to Paris instantly.  It only costs $1000 a trip.  Of course, you pay up front.  And don't forget to read the sign above the door when you go in "This device is in BETA, use at your own risk."  When you discover that you haven't actually been tele-ported, I'll offer you airline tickets to Paris (that only cost me $300) and a voucher for a free trip in the tele-porter when its running right.

 

I have a friend who works in the computer industry who is quite knowledgeable about virus protection software.  He says that all the virus software companies (Norton, McAfee, etc.) hire people to write virus software, yes create viruses, and send them to your computer.  Then they pay other people to write anti-virus software to combat it.  I suspect that this tactic will keep the anit-virus people in business a very long time.

 

I keep venturing back to Google because my provider ATT/Yahoo keeps making their programs more and more obnoxious to use.  Last week they started putting ads in the email screen, and today I was limited to 20mb when trying to send my photos to a friend.  Computers have been part of my life since the late '70's.  The frustration level you experience over time rises and falls regularly.  Right now, we seem to be sliding into a new low (high frustration).  Too many programs are being marketed only half finished.  Beta used to mean: The program is complete, we have done all we can to take care of any bugs, but there may be one or two things we overlooked -- please help us make it right.  I am developing anxiety about whether this blog entry will actually make it to my blog.  How much time can I lend to this writing if something goes wrong.  Yes, I could save my work before it gets lost, but then, why should I have to?  I understand that my computer could suddenly bite the dust, but that is unlikely.  It is more likely that something will go wrong with the software -- that someone wrote, and didn't thoroughly test.

I would like to think that Google (and Blogger) are above all this -- certainly, they do a better job than Yahoo -- but, like the others, they are in beta, and thus deliver a very wobbly product at times.  Further, I'm writing this on Live Writer which compounds the possibility of failure.  Let's see if this posts.

 

... this an edit in Live Writer:  The post worked, but any avenue to edit in Blogger seems to be closed.  No use getting pissed about that... they're in beta...