The Software Conspiracy: Why Companies Put Out Faulty Software, How They Can Hurt You and What You Can Do About It [Hardcover]

Mark Minasi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 27, 1999

Minasi believes it's time to get mad at the industry that allows such things to happen. From his unique vantage point, he delivers an incisive and highly readable expose that calls computer makers and consumers to account. He reveals how companies inexcusably get away with thumbing their nose at quality, and tells what all of us can do to stop it.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Software Conspiracy makes the point that software, shrink-wrapped software in particular, has more bugs than it should have, and that fact is costing us lives and money. Minasi illustrates this point with examples, which are very engaging, interesting, and often quite saddening. In the Gulf War, for instance, 28 soldiers died because Patriot guidance software stopped working properly after 14 hours of continuous use. A "Software and the Law" section gives an excellent and informed, if American-focused, view of the UCITA and how this could destroy the American software industry. Minasi also explains how the decline of the software industry could affect the U.S.'s trade deficit.

At times the author seems to be struggling for material--as when he devotes several pages to explaining what a trade deficit is and needlessly repeats the book's main point over and over. Still, while some may disagree with Minasi's argument, it's an important one to consider. Everyone uses software--whether in clocks, calculators, or PCs--and the future of the software industry affects us all. --Josh Smith, Amazon.co.uk

From Library Journal

Modern airliners, automobiles, and defense systems rely on software to operate. This mission-critical software is often plagued by serious defects or bugs, and when some bugs bite, they kill. Building on that theme, computer journalist Minasi reveals the true cost to business and society of flaws in mainstream software. He examines software bugs in detail, pointing out common defects and providing commonsense advice on how to cope with software we rely on daily. Minasi also explodes the myth that "it's impossible to write software without bugs"Aa myth he alleges many software firms want us to believeAand he warns about proposed changes to laws that would allow a software firm to sell a dangerously flawed or completely useless application and leave no recourse for victims of its failure. Offering step-by-step advice on what consumers can do to help solve the problem of buggy software, he concludes by presenting potential future scenarios, good and bad, and the consequences that could result from inaction. A call to arms for software consumers and a warning to the industry, this is a worthwhile purchase for most libraries.AJoe J. Accardi, Northeastern Illinois Univ. Lib., Chicago
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 269 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill; First Edition 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 edition (August 27, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071348069
• ISBN-13: 978-0071348065
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,788,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Minasi, CS Directory Services MVP, is one of the world's leading Windows authorities. He teaches classes in two dozen countries and is a much sought-after speaker at conferences and industry gathering keynotes. His firm, MR&D, has taught tens of thousands of people to design and run Windows networks. Mark has written over 15 books for Sybex, including the market-leading Mastering Windows Server 2003 and The Complete PC Upgrade and Maintenance Guide.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a useful book, important in spite of flaws, December 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Software Conspiracy: Why Companies Put Out Faulty Software, How They Can Hurt You and What You Can Do About It (Hardcover)

This book should be read by anyone who is not particularly computer-literate and has been burned by bad consumer software.

The central message of the book is that consumer software stinks because you, the consumer, buy it anyway and don't hold vendors responsible. Software intended for the general public has been so lousy for so long that people have become accustomed to it, even to the point of making apologies for the vendors. The author gives a reasonable amount of background on several aspects of software quality (technical, legal, business), some steps to take, and mentions a few resources.

The book is more about raising the level of awareness of the issue than about helping you deal with any particular bug though. Nothing will happen until there is a major change in public opinion.

Kudos for illustrating how the semi-technical press (PC Magazine and the like) contribute to the problem.

Although the author has the big picture right there are too many details wrong in his superficial presentation of the software development process for me to recommend the book enthusiastically. Nonetheless much that is in this book will probably be a revelation to the general public and so what really matters is that the big picture is right.

The resource section could have been a lot more directly useful, and should have a web site backing it. But there are some useful pointers.

******
Updated 12/27/2009

My, how time flies. I was updating my wish list and came upon this review. How quickly the issue of buggy software faded in the face of the tech crash, 9/11, Iraq, Enron, etc.

Today I wouldn't quibble with the author's presentation of the development process. It was an accurate comment but not important, the big picture was what really mattered. The book certainly has flaws (it screamed for another editing pass to tighten it up) but these are less important than the subject. Let's give credit to Minasi for taking on an important topic.

One factual error in my review: the book did in fact have a web site, the URL was just buried in the text in the normal font with no header or any other signpost (something that final edit might have caught). I skimmed the book to make sure that my statement was correct and _still_ missed the URL. But however well-hidden it may have been, it was there, and I was wrong. I thought I had corrected the review but must have lost track of it in the rush of producing buggy software.

This book should have caused people to burn software executives in effigy, or perhaps in person. Perhaps it would have if the Oughts hadn't brought so many earth-shattering problems. I'm still amazed at the continued demonstration of the Stockholm Syndrome as people make excuses for shoddy software and take criticism of vendors as a personal affront.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is required reading for everyone today., October 19, 1999

By 

Karlton Wirsing - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Software Conspiracy: Why Companies Put Out Faulty Software, How They Can Hurt You and What You Can Do About It (Hardcover)

I would rate it 10 stars if they would let me. Software is an important part of our lives. Therefore having quality software is also important. Unfortunately the software companies seem to think that consumers don't care about quality and reliability. This book describes their attitudes, the consequences, and what to do about it. It even describes how the companies are working on making it legal for them to knowingly shipping to the consumer bug ridden software, and giving the consumer no recourse for this practice. This must stop and the book presents solutions to this. So if you ever had a problem with software (and who hasn't) buy and read this book. It is that important.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars About time this has been exposed., December 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Software Conspiracy: Why Companies Put Out Faulty Software, How They Can Hurt You and What You Can Do About It (Hardcover)

This has been happening for years! This is the only industry that has the 'End User Agreement'... '...by your agreement in using this software, and whatever happens to you because of this software, we are not liable.' Holy damn! Imagine other industries having such an agreement? 'By using this vehicle, and if anything goes wrong, for instance the steering wheel collapses or the fuel tank ruptures during normal usage on a highway, you may not hold us liable..." Or how about the food industry requiring an EUA? Or how about such things as a television? Would you put up with a television that occassionally malfunctions? Have you folks seen all the sharewares that the coders themselves release as 'beta' but still require you to register it if you want to continue use? It is BETA! They should be paying us to test and find the bugs for them.

So why do we allow the software companies to perpetuate this?

I for one am sick of it. The EUA should be abolished. We should not have to waive our rights to use a software. Especially after we purchased it, and we cannot return it once opened. If we were allowed to return a software after we used it and found it to be buggy, then this might be somewhat more acceptable.

There has to be some serious changes in this industry. As harddrive and memory increases in size, coders are lead to believed they can bloat the software as much as they want because users wouldn't be worried about space. But the more bloated software are, the more chances there are for conflicts and bugs.