> when ford sold the pinto with the 'exploding' gas tank, it just paid money > out to settle claims after many people were burned to death. although i > don't believe there is a precedent for it, possibly until now, many software > companies have been doing the same thing: selling crap products that in > essence 'explode' and hemorrhage valuable personal data to script kiddies, > etc.
If we are to compare the nature of software to a physical product, we need to remember a few things... 1) Proving software to be 100% correct is nearly impossible and in some cases completely impossible. (think halting problem and state space explosion) 2) Physical products often have a calculable degradation curve whereas given consistent conditions, software does not "deteriorate" in a way that is easily quantifiable. It does "degrade" under different conditions but see point #1 for another problem. 3) Even the best tested and mathematically proven software (think IBM space shuttle code) has bugs. I forget the exact cost because I don't have the paper nearby but the per line cost of the shuttle code was astronomical! If all software cost as much per line, no one would own a computer, except maybe governments and multi-billionaires. There are other points but I'm sure you get the gist... I'm glad I have a job, even if it means being a "high-priced" janitor.
