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Submission + - are unfinished products becoming the norm?

Paul writes: Long ago when digital synthesizers first became commonly available, I recall a reviewer lamenting how he was getting more and more products to test whose software was unfinished and buggy and would require updates and fixes (this, before the internet allowed easy downloads, would have meant a journey to a specialist repair centre). The review also commented how this common problem with computer software (he wrote even before windows 95 was out) was spreading, and asked if it was going to become the norm.

These days it seems ubiquitous, with PDAs, digital cameras, PVRs and all manner of complex goods needing after-market firmware fixes often simply to make them have the features promised in the adverts, let alone add enhancements.

Are we seeing this spread beyond computers and computer-based products; jokes apart, will we be booting our cars up and installing flash updates every week to prevent comoputer viruses getting into the control systems?

Can slashdot readers comment on any recent purchases where they've been badly let down by missing features, or are still waiting for promised updates even whilst a new model is now on the shelves? How can we make the manufacturers take better responsibility?

Apart from reading every review possible before making a purchase, what strategy do slashdot readers have, or propose, for not being caught out? With software, people say "never buy v1.0", but this is not possible with say a digicam.
Slashback

Submission + - Does Losing Weight Make You Happy?

atanas writes: "Joi Ito posted "Before and After" images of himself on Flickr. He lost 15 kgs (33 lbs.) and is happy with his new, healthier lifestyle. I congratulate him for his effort, and for achieving his goal (I assume this was his goal). But this also made me think: Have you noticed that in almost all "Before and After" images the person looks happier in the "Before" image? They look more slender, fitter, muscular, trimmer in the "After" image, but something seems to have left them... The spark in their eye is gone... http://atanasentchev.blogspot.com/2007/02/before-a fter.html"

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Thus spake the master programmer: "After three days without programming, life becomes meaningless." -- Geoffrey James, "The Tao of Programming"

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