I couldn’t agree with you more except for the part about hating my code. I don’t think I’m particularly good, I just think it’s impossible for a passionate developer to hate their code. This is because a developer who really wants to write good code - writes it to the best of their ability no matter what. Therefore they never know there is better until they get a code review, then maybe they hate their code for a short period and then fix it.
Just my $.02
My god do I hate almost all software. When you know how easy it is to make something work and work right, and something you pay for doesn’t - it makes me irate. OSS ftw. It might still have issues but I can be ok with it’s shortcomings because “at least it was free”.
When I read this I had to stop myself and make sure I hadn’t somehow hacked into this site while I was asleep and wrote it myself. The exact same thing happened when my wife got her digital camera last Christmas, and my sentiments exactly on hating software as a software developer.
BTW, to they guy having problems with iTunes. There’s a setting that tells iTunes not to copy the files.
Jeff, you just inadvertently found another advantage of open source. When I load an unknown package from the Ubuntu repository, I have the expectation that it’ll work pretty well, and I’m usually not disappointed. There are hundreds of thousands of OS programs out there, and if one of them was good enough that a Debian developer took the trouble to package it, it’s been vetted.
Combine that with the fact that 99% of open source software is written by volunteers, the people who’re so fanatical about creating software that they don’t get enough of it in their day jobs.
Dangit my name didn’t show! The most recent post from Anonymous is me! And also, Orange, you do need to quit crying. Not wanting software is a perfect excuse to jump across the room while in the process of squashing the cat. Luckily Jeff managed to miss the cat, so I would say a kudos to him.
PS if you didn’t catch it this was another attempt at humor.
Not all developers write shitty code. I think your sample data is a bit sparse/specific. I certainly can’t say my code is the worst I’ve seen (in a given time period).
It’s empowering to know that it’s the software that sucks and not me (the user). I frequently have to explain to friends and family that it’s not their fault when they don’t understand something. I tell them that it’s the designer/programmer how is at fault by making a crappy piece of software. (I credit Donald Norman for that piece of advise).
I’m much much more relaxed when installing and testing new software since I’m using virtual machines. Just don’t forget to make a snapshot first (not with your new camera)…
That digital camera software would probably also run on startup, obviously it must be the first thing you want to use everytime you switch on your computer
I hate my software, but my interfaces tend to be better than most.
Seriously. It’s not just my opinion either. Other people like them too.
It is, however, so good that they can’t see the underlying code which is a stinking cesspool of loose ends, failed ideas and blathering comments better left unsaid.
Any software that is needed for a camera to work with a computer via a standard usb connection really should be on the camera itself (and really shouldn’t be needed for most of them)
This way you can plug the camera into any computer & use it!
Maybe the camera should come with recommendations of photo editing software, preferably freely downloadable stuff
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The worst code I’ve seen recently is partially mine & what it’s supposed to do has been rather warped
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@Benedict
I think designers/programmers usually just need to explain what it’s supposed to be more clearly, it’s often a misunderstanding of how the software’s expected to be used (ie unclear/unfamiliar interfaces)
You said “Any modern operating system (and even Windows XP!) can see and automatically download pictures from a new digital camera.”
Well, this is not always true. At least my Canon EOS 350D DSLR is not being detected by Windows XP without WIA driver because it does not support Mass Storage Device.
I’ve worked with one particular horrible terrible programmer, that I can no longer look at my code and see it as bad. Don’t get me wrong, I go back to some old code, and wonder what I was thinking, but even then I can see proper structure and proper algorithms and know it’s better than that guy’s code will ever be. I can’t decide if by working with him I am better or worse, or if I have seen the worst and try my hardest to not be like that.
I look at code I wrote anytime over 6 months ago and I freak out. What was I thinking!! Right now it’s "Look at all of this polymorphism! Holy Crap, I could have done the same thing with a while loop and a sentinel, and it would have been so much easier to read!"
The bandwagon is not always a good place to be.
The exact same thing happened when my wife got her digital camera last Christmas, and my sentiments exactly on hating software as a software developer.