Showing posts with label cobol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cobol. Show all posts

Glitch: The Hidden Impact of Faulty Software Review

Glitch: The Hidden Impact of Faulty Software
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Glitch: The Hidden Impact of Faulty Software? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Glitch: The Hidden Impact of Faulty Software. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Glitch: The Hidden Impact of Faulty Software ReviewGiven my (and many others') increasing frustration with consequences of buggy software, I was really hoping for this book to be useful at identifying the issues and proposing some solutions. Not only did the book come up short on both of these, but much of the book has nothing to with glitches. Further there were numerous errors in much of the material, and most of the "solutions" proposed amounted to suggesting increased regulation, as if the government can demand bug-free software (when that isn't even defined) or "certified" software engineers, again not showing what kind of certification (or even training) can reduce bugs.
Some examples of wrong, if not downright dangerous, advice:
He points to Bernie Madoff as an example of the need for more government regulation (in general), ignoring the fact that preventing situations like Bernie Madoff was EXACTLY what the SEC was set up to, and even after 75 years was unable to do so.
He also aims to expand government's consumption of technology - "without ... Web 2.0 capabilities on government websites, e-government initiatives will deliver diminishing returns. ... when ... [Web 2.0 capabilities are] unavailable on government sites, citizens will not return." This completely misses several major points - most notably, that government does not have competitors (for true government functions), and that as long as an electronic solution is easier than the alternative, it will succeed. Will anyone really choose to go in to the DMV for a renewal that can be done on the web, just because the website doesn't offer flashy graphics or collaboration features?
In suggesting not to understand, much less upgrade mission-critical systems- "Know when to leave well enough alone. Given fluctuations in staffing and long-term investments in technology, the reality is that you simply won't fully understand certain applications. ... you will not always know exactly what makes them tick ...If it's a business-critical application, ... you may not need to know every line of code ... In this case, the risk of compromising the infrastructure by opening the application far outweighs the need to sate curiosity." One would think that if a system were business-critical, understanding every line would be business-critical. Or else one glitch could bring down the company, because no one will understand enough to repair it in a timely manner. Also, even the most green developer knows that "opening the application" (i.e. reviewing source code) does not entail ANY risk. Ignorance, however, that's risk.
In proposing more attention being paid to cloud applications - "Should faulty software practices make their way into a cloud, they might impact a wider audience than a more traditional on-premises model of software ownership. Therefore we need to be that much more diligent when it comes to developing [cloud applications]" This is particularly disturbing as he earlier pointed out software bugs that killed people in a (not widely used) radiology application. "Diligence" should be a function of potential impact, not where an application is hosted, or even how many users it has.
Even his definition of a software problem is questionable - "When I buy a flat-panel TV and it takes me four hours to make it work with the components, that's a software lifecycle problem. When I wait for three hours for what was supposed to be a one-hour brake pad replacement, that's a software life cycle failure."
Speaking of definitions, he continually talks about "transparency" and "governance" without ever clearly defining those terms.
In summary, while the author may have been CEO of Lotus Development Corp, it sounds like he was never actually a developer or even a tester, and hence appears to be a PHB (pointy haired boss) right out of Dilbert, spouting off dictates with no understanding of the real problems, much less solutions. What a shame.
Glitch: The Hidden Impact of Faulty Software OverviewDon't Let Software Failures Destroy Your BusinessThe growing impact of software failures on brands, customers, and business performance

Want to learn more information about Glitch: The Hidden Impact of Faulty Software?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age (Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series) Review

Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age (Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age (Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age (Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age (Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series) ReviewThis is a great book. While it is from an `Academic' press, it is not at all pedantic or overbearing. In fact, it is a fascinating story of Grace Hopper and the amazing contribution that she and her team made to the development of computers. It also provides an insight into that development unlike any other. The fascinating aspect of this is that much of what we do today - from flow charting to debugging had to be invented and it was - by Howard Aiken and Grace Hopper. If you are at all interested in understanding the amazing tale of our computer development and the amazing impact that Grace Hopper had on that development, this is a must read!Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age (Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series) OverviewThe career of computer visionary Grace Murray Hopper, whose innovativework in programming laid the foundations for the user-friendliness of today'spersonal computers that sparked the information age.

Want to learn more information about Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age (Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...