Email: Password: Remember Me | Create Account (Free)

Back to Subject List

Old thread has been locked -- no new posts accepted in this thread
???
06/25/05 17:12
Read: times


 
#95914 - Yes.
Responding to: ???'s previous message
In car industry there's a multitude of highly specialised "tuning services" that tailor a "generic" car strictly to your needs. The manufacturers themselves handle this too, but only on special basis, for special customers - bulletproof glass, titanium hull, all that extra custom stuff, for top 0.01% customers, and expensive like the hell too.
In commercial software it's much more rare, possibly because the "single custom unit of software",due to development cost not being split amongst thousands of customers would be extremely expensive, and also tinkering with an existing car by a third party company is so much easier than working with compiled binaries without access to sources, and few software giants would risk passing their sources to third parties even with strict non-disclosure agreement. (actually, that's how NT4 and W2k sources leaked, they were stolen from servers of a third party company working on a UNIX-Windows interoperablity toolkit for MS.)

It would be possible for a closed source company to offer the service and maintainability, it just hasn't happened.
Is that universally true?

Yes. Except possible != profitable. In most cases providing 100% of this service "bundled as standard" with the program would cause so much overhead "support cost" that it simply kill your business. Providing API allowing for more seamless integration of your software with some larger systems, than ctrl-c ctrl-v between two windows of different systems would solve a lot of problems, though obviously not all. And providing the support for a fee... well, IBM and some other giants went so far this way, that they gave up on profit from the software itself completely. And I suppose the customers will prefer to hear "Yes, this can be done, but this will cost you" than "no, it can't be done".

List of 55 messages in thread
TopicAuthorDate
finally the trade press recognizes            01/01/70 00:00      
   Amen            01/01/70 00:00      
   How many seniors write 'good' code?            01/01/70 00:00      
      I wonder            01/01/70 00:00      
         Definition of Good            01/01/70 00:00      
            Good            01/01/70 00:00      
      you are wrong            01/01/70 00:00      
         Still depends.            01/01/70 00:00      
         Strong words!!            01/01/70 00:00      
            Russell            01/01/70 00:00      
               this little quirk.            01/01/70 00:00      
                  if only            01/01/70 00:00      
                     Well            01/01/70 00:00      
                        correction            01/01/70 00:00      
                           Well then            01/01/70 00:00      
                              There's the crux            01/01/70 00:00      
                                 Niches            01/01/70 00:00      
                                 Oh, but yes!            01/01/70 00:00      
                                    no way            01/01/70 00:00      
                                       By whom then?            01/01/70 00:00      
                                          Bartosz, your ramblings are not about ma            01/01/70 00:00      
                                             And then            01/01/70 00:00      
                                                The issue discussed is not open or close            01/01/70 00:00      
                                                   Fair enough            01/01/70 00:00      
                                                   Mandatory?            01/01/70 00:00      
                                                      WGASA            01/01/70 00:00      
                                                         Closed source            01/01/70 00:00      
                                                            Yes.            01/01/70 00:00      
                                                      simple falsehood            01/01/70 00:00      
                                                         Not quite the same            01/01/70 00:00      
                                                            Oh, well            01/01/70 00:00      
                                                               Is that the point?            01/01/70 00:00      
                                          PHBs don't care            01/01/70 00:00      
                                             Worse            01/01/70 00:00      
            Pretty normal really...            01/01/70 00:00      
               Donald            01/01/70 00:00      
                  Whats the difference ?            01/01/70 00:00      
         Maintainable            01/01/70 00:00      
            Erik, You've yet to convince me!            01/01/70 00:00      
               I bid you peace            01/01/70 00:00      
               HLL perhaps?            01/01/70 00:00      
         Some code does not need to be maintained            01/01/70 00:00      
            oh it is            01/01/70 00:00      
               now..            01/01/70 00:00      
                  OOPS            01/01/70 00:00      
   re:trade press            01/01/70 00:00      
   an afterthought            01/01/70 00:00      
      Maintainability Vs functionability            01/01/70 00:00      
         Maint.vs functionality, design vs test            01/01/70 00:00      
            Design is not everything.            01/01/70 00:00      
               Maintainable Vs Robust code            01/01/70 00:00      
               maintainaibility is a cost saver            01/01/70 00:00      
   averagosity; job security; survivability            01/01/70 00:00      
      If bad code gives Job Security then Why?            01/01/70 00:00      
         neither have I            01/01/70 00:00      

Back to Subject List