What Is Bad Software?

Bad software is any software that screws up your machine. It might have some very good features, something more than the initial showroom flash to offer, but that doesn't mean the ideas were implemented well. Just because a program is easy for you to use; just because an ISV product seems to have an intuitive interface that suits you perfectly does not mean it won't mess up your box. From ideas to implementation is a whole range of pitfalls many if not most ISVs fall into.

Software can turn bad already in the design phase. Some software ideas are so totally out of orbit it's not funny. A number of ideas built into the Microsoft explorers fall into this category. It's marketing suits which generally tap the bass drum today and programmers in their cells - wall to wall carpeting and futons or small cubicles - who have to do their 'colour by numbers'.

'Colour by numbers' is no fun. It's hard to get worked up about someone else's idea, especially if that idea should come from some lame clueless suit upstairs. Resentment and apathy can grow high. It's unlikely programmers will give their all in this context. As soon as the miserable thing seems to work it's Miller Time and home to kiss the wife and kids.

But it's not the bugs per se which harm you: It's the way the software installs itself on your system and runs. If you find a really dumb bug, odds are the ISV will fix it. Bugs are a nuisance to be sure, and take up an entire topic of their own. But bugs are not where your computer will come to harm.

Next: Where Bad Software Harms You