> when ford sold the pinto with the 'exploding' gas tank, it just paid money
quoted text
> out to settle claims after many people were burned to death. although i
> don't believe there is a precedent for it, possibly until now, many software
> companies have been doing the same thing: selling crap products that in
> essence 'explode' and hemorrhage valuable personal data to script kiddies,
> etc.


If we are to compare the nature of software to a physical product, we need
to remember a few things...

1) Proving software to be 100% correct is nearly impossible and in some
cases completely impossible.  (think halting problem and state space
explosion)
2) Physical products often have a calculable degradation curve whereas given
consistent conditions, software does not "deteriorate" in a way that is
easily quantifiable.  It does "degrade" under different conditions but see
point #1 for another problem.
3) Even the best tested and mathematically proven software (think IBM space
shuttle code) has bugs.  I forget the exact cost because I don't have the
paper nearby but the per line cost of the shuttle code was astronomical!  If
all software cost as much per line, no one would own a computer, except
maybe governments and multi-billionaires.

There are other points but I'm sure you get the gist...  I'm glad I have a
job, even if it means being a "high-priced" janitor.