Also known as "one point uh-oh", or "barely out of beta" . We had to
release because the lab guys had reached a point of exhaustion and the
marketing guys were in a cold sweat of terror. We're praying that
you'll find it more functional than, say, a computer virus and that
its operation has some resemblance to that specified in the marketing
copy.
1.1:
We fixed all the killer bugs ...
1.2:
Uh, we introduced a few new bugs fixing the killer bugs and so we had
to fix them, too.
2.0:
We did the product we really wanted to do to begin with. Mind you,
it's really not what the customer needs yet, but we're working on it.
2.1:
Well, not surprisingly, we broke some things in making major changes
so we had to fix them. But we did a really good job of testing this
time, so we don't think we introduced any new bugs while we were
fixing these bugs.
2.2:
Uh, sorry, one slipped through. One lousy typo error and you won't
believe how much trouble it caused!
2.3:
Some jerk found a deep-seated bug that's been there since 1.0 and
wouldn't stop nagging until we fixed it!!
3.0:
Hey, we finally think we've got it right!
Most of the customers are really happy with this.
3.1:
Of course, we did break a few little things.
4.0:
More features. It's doubled in size now, by the way, and you'll need
to get more memory and a faster processor ...
4.1:
Just one or two bugs this time... Honest!
5.0:
We really need to go on to a new product, but we have an installed
base out there to protect. We're cutting the staffing after this.
6.0:
We had to fix a few things we broke in 5.0. Not very many, but it's
been so long since we looked at this thing we might as well call it a
major upgrade. Oh, yeah, we added a few flashy cosmetic features so we
could justify
the major upgrade number.
6.1:
Since I'm leaving the company and I'm the last guy left in the lab who
works on the product, I wanted to make sure that all the changes I've
made are incorporated before I go. I added some cute demos, too, since
I was getting pretty bored back here in my dark little corner (I kept
complaining about the lighting but they wouldn't do anything). They're
talking about obsolescence planning but they'll try to keep selling it
for as long as there's a buck or two to be made. I'm leaving the bits
in as good a shape as I can in case somebody has to tweak them, but
it'll be sheer luck if no one loses them.
APPENDIX
version 0.1.0: A bunch of college students have decided it would be cool to re-program the universe in Java. They release a few notes
about their plans to Java-ize the universe.
version 0.2.0: Most of the college students have graduated or died, but one visionary keeps the dream alive, moving the project into
SourceForge.net. Version 0.2.0 is pretty much the same as version 0.1.0, except that the website has an inordinate number of status
updates reporting on his recent breakup with his girlfriend of 1 week and the lump in his ankle which he thinks might be a tumour.
version 0.3.0: Someone in France has decided that the project is worthwhile, socialism at its best, and takes it over from the
visionary college student. He releases a Java source code version of the universe which poorly emulates the Big Bang.
version 0.4.0: Mozilla.org's ears perk up.
version 0.5.0: Sun's ears perk up.
version 0.6.0: The program compiles for the first time ever, on any operating system.
version 0.7.0: The software is released by either Sun or Mozilla.org, with no documentation, and developers who are too surly to
answer any questions or fix any bugs.
version 0.8.0: Sun and Mozilla.org advise you not to use this particular version of the software. A security leak has been found
which deletes all the files on your system every time you run it.
Meanwhile IBM writes a glowing review of this version of the software and emails everyone in its massive spam list about how great it
is.
version 0.9.0: The software is so buggy that noone will ever use it. But it's the universe re-programmed in Java!!! So everyone
drools over it. Slashdot runs regular interviews with the developers.
version 1.0.0: this milestone has never yet been achieved by open source software.
We decided to drop the numbers of the releases and make up a fancy title with two letters instead. We haven't really fixed anything, we just added a bunch of cosmetic fluff on top, oh and increased the size quite a bit, and added code that requires a faster CPU and a minimum of 256mb of RAM.
