Microsoft Vista, a Unique POV

Writer Dominic Connor has an interesting commentary today about Microsoft's recently announced delays to the Vista operating system. Connor was a developer and bug tester for IBM's infamous OS/2 operating system, so he knows what it takes to make an OS crash and burn.

Connor's thesis is a common one: Vista has become so large that it's impossible to manage the process of creating it. Making changes midstream are even more problematic, often leading to catastrophic delays. Executives find a way to lay the blame on certain project managers (by firing them), but that doesn't do anything to assuage the real damage.

Connor also says that managers discourage bug checkers like himself from actually finding bugs. "They bring bad news." And no one likes bad news. They want good news. Not more delays.

The author has many, many more insights into the arcane method of large-scale software development, but there's too much to digest here. Read his insightful piece on why Vista may in fact never ship (just like IBM's OS/2 2.0), and learn a bit about where your digital bits come from. Be warned: You can lump this in with the creation of laws and sausage. It ain't pretty.