There's a microflap in the RSS world right now. It started when a blogger lost her data, and thenlost her temper. She did this very publicly, and because she has good friends and good enemies she did this very visibly. The spreading ripples have left lots of name calling in the wake. ( I'm not going to link to the flap; it's a street fight. Nothing to see. Move on.)
Software will make mistakes. This is emphatically true of beta software, of course; you should expect beta software to do bad things. But even release software will, occasionally, not behave as it should.
Software is complex. Tinderbox, for example, is not the largest or most complicated program out there -- but it's very large and very complex and has a vast number of moving parts.
Nobody knows how to write bug-free software. In fact, nobody knows how to write software that won't crash and lose your data. Nobody knows how to cure cancer or fly to Mars or put a chicken in very pot. The longest journey begins with a single step.
Use common sense. The very first words on the product web page are "Beta software has bugs! Nasty, vicious bugs with great big, sharp teeth! Don't use beta software unless you're clear on what 'beta' means and you're comfortable running beta software." Later, the vendor specifically warns against testing the feature that caused the problem.
Don't listen to the pundits. Newspaper and magazine columnists write as if defect-free programs were as easy to ship as defect-free automobiles. It isn't. Get used to it. Don't listen to the pros, either, unless you know them well and know enough about the field to be sure you're a good judge.
Software pricing is out of whack. In the instance, an influential professional was using free 30-day trials to select a professional tool she used extensively every day, a tool that was close to the center of her worklife. How much would the successful vendor receive for winning the competition? $24.95 . This is absurd.
