Re: Delphi 2005 - One more patch?

"John Kaster (Borland)" <johnk@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4351e5cd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Venkatesh VT wrote:
>
>> I dont know know what to make of this?
>
> Sounds to me like the most accurate summary is: Damned if you do,
> damned if you don't.

This is not just an issue with Borland - it's across the whole industry. But
it's worse for things like dev tools, where - because you can't simply
switch from one to another overnight - purchasers can feel captive to the
product, and at the mercy of the supplier.

The heart of the problem is really in the way that software is 'sold'. As
the consumer, the license agreement typically says (in essence) "If the
media is faulty and can't be read, we'll supply you with a replacement CD" -
and that's the limits of your 'rights' in relation to the quality of the
product you're getting. Licenses will often explicitly say that there is no
guarantee of the quality, fitness-for-purpose, or performance of the
software. So, if you buy a flaky product, you have little legal comeback.

But, any reputable company that wants to stay in business and keep its
customers WILL treat problems seriously and bend over backwards to keep
customers happy. The recent batch of "unofficial patches" for D2005 seem to
be a huge step in this direction. Further service pack(s) for D2005 - after
Dexter release - would also help. I wouldn't exactly expect a 'roadmap' for
service packs ( my ideal would be none!), but some kind of "scoring" system
for bugs, combined with a committment to work on an SP if the 'score' of
outstanding bugs hits a predefined level might work?

I'd also expect people would be prepared to pay for continuing SP-only
support on older products after the first 12 months....?

- Roddy



.

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