New and Improved!

 

This Old House

Ain't got time to fix the shingles
Ain't got time to fix the floor
Ain't got time to oil the hinges
Nor to mend no window panes
Ain't gonna need this house no longer
I’m gettin' ready to meet the saints

But if it ain’t broke, DON’T fix it!

A basic rule in engineering is “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.  Doctors follow the same instructions in the Hippocratic Oath but it sounds better there,  “First, do no harm”.  Unfortunately beginning with Thomas Watson, Jr., IBM and all tech companies, have been violating these rules.

Tech companies have constantly “improved” their offerings with frequent updates.  While this was supposedly to benefit the users of these programs, all too often it is at the expense of dropping features that were previously included, or putting features that peviously existed behind a pay wall or other “protections”. Also there is always a user cost to these improvements.  There is a learning curve to unlearn the old ways, and learn the new way, of doing things.  The more you know, then the more you have to unlearn, so the cost is borne particularly by long-time users.

Does anyone remember the “New” Coke marketing fiasco of the 1990s.  Coca-Cola corporate honchos though it would be a good ideas to introduce a “New” formula for their soft drink.  There was nothing wrong with the Old Formula.  They just wanted to improve it.  Their customers revolted and forced the reintroduction of Classic Coke and eventually New Coke disappeared.  

I could do without the new upgrades that are made by tech companies where they are forcing their users to accept that it wasn’t broke, but they fixed it anyway.  Thanks for nothing tech companies.  I guess the tech companies had the time because they aren’t “gettin’ ready to meet the saints.”