Will it(fill in the blank) ever be perfect?
I was just reading an Editor's Note over on AccountingWeb where Gail Perry ponders aloud:
do you ever find yourself wondering if the programmers will stop making new versions someday and announce, "We've finally gotten it right! The best version of [fill in the blank with your favorite software program] has been written – there's nothing we can do to make it better, so from now on, you'll never have to upgrade again!"
Then, as it turns out, Vlad is asking a similar question: How Hard Does Vista Suck?
While I feel the pain of upgrades, believe me, they are never the consultants dream, they are a necessary evil. There are a couple of factors in play. Things change; things that are out of your control, out of their control. Laws change, people change, and it is understandable that we want it better now than it was, and will want it better in the future than it is now. So if things are changing, circumstances are different in a year, then we have to adapt, software production, is no different. Further there is hardware change. So hardware is faster now, in general, than it was say 3 years ago, and it slower than it will be in 3 years. Generally speaking that is a true enough statement. We will need our applications to keep up with that! Then there is the factor of need. We all need things today, but think about yourself…is there anything you have now that you never even imagined maybe 10, 15, 20 years ago? Or perhaps a better question, something you thought about 10, 15, 20 years ago, that you said to yourself, if I had something that could do that…WOW I'ld have it made!!! Perhaps a suburban assault vehicle that you could effectively scale a 60 degree incline is it. Perhaps a bed that could be fine tuned to your specific preference is it. The point is that while change can be difficult, it is part of life. Software tools like excel are part of any accountants life, get used to it, and stop worrying about things you cannot control. As for the OS, don't expect nirvana on a PC. Your Computer is a tool to get a job done. No more, no less. If it could drive you somewhere it would be a car. If it could convert CO2 to Oxygen, it would be a tree, or some other plant material…
Oh and before I forget, as long as Software is produced by people who are producing said software for a living, in some cases a better living that any nation of people could expect to make…OT…, there will always be an incentive to provide a lot, but not all, or else what would they start the next version out with? If you don't like it, don't use it…see how far you get. Some people have gotten off the upgrade train, some don't buy into it, some steal it, but software, is a required part of the business. It's all around you, on your phones, in your calculators, in your DVD Players and HD TVs, and especially on your PCs and networks. It's at the Dentist's Office, and the Childcare facility, in your car, and over the road. It's there when you walk into wal-mart, it's there when you pump your gas, it's even there when the cop rights you a speeding ticket!!! If there's hardware, somewhere there is software and people driving that, and when people are involved, well, then it's about making a buck, and preferably a ton of 'em, for as long as they can, rinse and repeat.