In the beginning...

Should I be ashamed that in a long career in IT it's taken me until now to write a blog? Perhaps, but there's been too much excitement -- not all fun! -- for me to find a few moments to spare.

It all started with a few lectures in the Mathematical Laboratory in Cambridge. There were even practicals (on Brunsviga hand calculators) in methods of repetitive calculations, and an introduction to programming in EDSAC II autocode. As undergraduates we didn't get to see the computer itself or even to run our elementary programs, and perhaps that's why I had a wish to get my hands on after graduating.

 

Bad Software is Everywhere Because we Tolerate it.

... and we shouldn't

We tolerate it because the licence terms leave us powerless to resist it. Microsoft isn't the only culprit, but its monopoly position makes the situation dangerous for all of us.

Most software licences include exclusions of users' claims for loss or damage. They make it possible for the lawyers of "Big IT" (I draw a parallel with "Big Pharma") to laugh at suffering users and competitors. The licence terms should be declared unenforceable, and purchasers should refuse to accept them.

Only halting the revenue stream of Big IT will cavalier and reckless treatment of customers become a thing of the past.