Walt Mossberg Quotes

For us, the real goal is to make it so that the software ecosystem is as healthy as possible.

There are lots of Linux users who don't care how the kernel works, but only want to use it. That is a tribute to how good Linux is.

The reality of most software development is that the consequences of failure are simply nonexistent.

Like all software, Qmail can survive only when it keeps up with changing requirements.

Agitator and the Agitar Management Dashboard lower the barriers to accountability in software development and increase the value of developer testing.

There is a strong movement towards increased accountability for software developers and software development organizations.

All software sucks.

Yet, I am convinced that there is a need for high quality software, and the time will come when it will be recognized that it is worth investing effort in its development and in using a careful, structured approach based on safe, structured languages.

I have this hope that there is a better way. Higher-level tools that actually let you see the structure of the software more clearly will be of tremendous value.

We shifted our philosophy from being a computer mapping group that would support planners to the idea of building actual software that would be well engineered. Because at that time, our software was not well-engineered at all; it was basically built with project funding and for project work, largely by ourselves.

I'm not of the opinion that all software will be open source software. There is certain software that fits a niche that is only useful to a particular company or person: for example, the software immediately behind a web site's user interface. But the vast majority of software is actually pretty generic.

My reply is: the software has no known bugs, therefore it has not been updated.

Qmail out of the box works fine, so people will want to use it regardless of licensing restrictions, even when the software does not ship with their system software.

Like any well designed software product, Windows is designed, developed and tested as an integrated whole.

We decided that the French could never write user-friendly software because they're so rude.

When it comes to software, I much prefer free software, because I have very seldom seen a program that has worked well enough for my needs, and having sources available can be a life-saver.

Adding functionality is not just a matter of adding code.

Defect-free software does not exist.

The biggest challenge for open source is that as it enters the consumer market, as projects like WordPress and Firefox have done, you have to create a user experience that is on par or better than the proprietary alternatives.

If you want to do interesting software, you have to have a bunch of people do it, because the amount of software that one person can do isn't that interesting.

So far, Indian companies have focused more on customer application. This needs to shift to packaged software for sectors such as banking and financial services.

When someone builds a bridge, he uses engineers who have been certified as knowing what they are doing. Yet when someone builds you a software program, he has no similar certification, even though your safety may be just as dependent upon that software working as it is upon the bridge supporting your weight.

The challenge with Postfix, or with any piece of software, is to update software without introducing problems.

This will surprise some of your readers, but my primary interest is not with computer security. I am primarily interested in writing software that works as intended.

Most of the effort in the software business goes into the maintenance of code that already exists.