Kevin Aylward of Wizbang points us to a column of John Dvorak’s enumerating the top ten software disasters of all time:
10. Microsoft Bob (1995)
9. Combined category [programing languages]
8. MicroPro Easy, the word processor (1985)
7. Windows 1.0
6. Microsoft Access (circa 1985) [not the database software]
5. TopView (1984)
4. Lotus Symphony (PC) and Lotus Jazz (Macintosh)
3. Framework
2. Microsoft OS/2
1. VisiOn
I’ve supported every one of these dogs at one time or another except VisiOn and Bob. And that includes both Forth and Pascal. Has Dvorak produced a list of brilliant software failures? I’ve worked with a bunch of those, too:
Actor (a programming language)
Layout (a visual programming system)
Objectvision (a workflow system)
Does anyone out there have more to add?
I liked Lotus Ami Pro a great deal, but it never went anywhere. Lotus Notes, on the other hand, sucks rocks.
Fortunately, I’ve never had to support Notes. It’s impressed me as one of those systems that’s all things to all people—the computer software that will solve all your problems.