What ‘shipping software’ really means
September 12th, 2005There was a time when getting your software shipped used to be like making a movie … or, for that matter, any other product launch. There will be hectic last-minute activity, advertising and finally a collective heave of relief when the product ships. Again, the cycle of new features & bug fixes continue.
However, things are changing. The ‘Desktop PC’ is no longer the platform. The browser is. Or, as Sun says, ‘The network is the computer’ is finally coming true. In these days, ‘shipping software’ is no longer the same as before. It normally involves a few days’ cycle time as opposed to months/years it used to take before. Perhaps this article by Mark Lucovsky is especially relevant. He explains how it’s not Microsoft that ‘gets’ shipping software anymore, it’s more and more companies like Amazon. He forgot to add Google. It’s amazing how Google churns out product after product in a lockstep march fashion.
