undefined | Better HN

0 pointsneilalexander6y ago0 comments

I'll gladly name names.

Apple have totally forgotten how to test and assure software against what appear to be even stupid bugs. macOS Catalina has been fraught with issues ranging from the minor to the ridiculous. Clearly nobody even bothered to test whether the Touch Bar "Spaces" mode on the MacBook Pro 16" actually works properly before shipping the thing. Software updates sometimes just stop downloading midway through, the Mail.app just appears over the top of whatever I'm doing seemingly at random and Music.app frequently likes to forget that I'm associated with an iTunes account.

Microsoft are really no better - Windows 10 continues to be slow on modest hardware and obvious and ridiculous bugs continue to persist through feature releases, e.g. the search bar often can't find things that are in the Start menu!

My question is who is testing this stuff?

0 comments

TeMPOraL6y ago

> My question is who is testing this stuff?

Telemetry.

Companies seem to be increasingly preferring to use invasive telemetry and automated crash reports in lieu of actual in-house testing, and they use that same telemetry to also prioritize work. I have a strong suspicion that this is a significant contributing factor to the absurdities and general user-hostility of modern products.

cytzol6y ago

I'm in complete agreement. Thanks to automated crash report uploading, the software I use is more stable than ever — it's a genuine surprise to me when an application crashes, and I can't remember the last time I had to reboot because my OS froze.

But this means that anything that's not represented in telemetry gets completely ignored. The numbers won't show you how many of your users are pissed off. They won't alert you to the majority of bugs. They won't tell you if you have a bloated web application that's stuffed full of advertising. They won't tell you if your UI is incoherent.

I really do think that large companies are looking at the numbers instead of actually using their software, and the numbers say that everything's fine.

TeMPOraL6y ago

Indeed. The way I've been summing it up recently: A/B testing is how Satan interacts with this world.

It's understandable people want to base their decisions off empirical evidence. But it's important to remember that what you measure (vs. what you don't measure) and how you measure will determine the path you're going as much as the results of these measurements.

city416y ago

Apple is one company I've been willing to name as it's extremely frustrating to have such a sub par experience with such expensive products. I used to be a huge Apple fan, and now I no longer use any Apple products. I've never used Catalina, but iOS is unbelievably buggy now so I'm not surprised.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointsneilalexander6y ago0 comments

I'll gladly name names.

My question is who is testing this stuff?

0 comments

TeMPOraL6y ago

> My question is who is testing this stuff?

Telemetry.

cytzol6y ago

I really do think that large companies are looking at the numbers instead of actually using their software, and the numbers say that everything's fine.

TeMPOraL6y ago

Indeed. The way I've been summing it up recently: A/B testing is how Satan interacts with this world.

city416y ago

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse