One of the many things I hate about the online world is the religious stances many seem to take regarding their favourite software. By visiting any social news website you can clearly see that pro-Apple and Linux stories are dominant in tech circles, with anti-Microsoft hate bringing up the rear.

Every Mac and Linux distribution I have used has felt more than pleasurable. Most of the time I do not have a problem with using any Operating System and can do pretty much anything I want without much documentation. Also, both of these platforms have great software that make good use of the capability of the machine. I’m not a fan of bloated software, and Mac OSX and Linux both feel lightweight, yet overpowering at the same time.

Here’s a surprise for you all. I also love Windows.

How could you not? A young man dreams of a computer on every desk and it’s happened. It’s only fitting that his OS is the one on the majority of computers out there. As a piece of software you know you’re working with quality when you use a Microsoft product. Despite the fact that some computers break down every second I believe that the task of creating a stable OS that’ll run on the majority of hardware out there is an impressive feat, and as a tech-enthusiast I can sympathise with Microsoft when they are slated for having software that crashes. We never get to hear about when a Mac crashes or when Linux drivers and features sometimes fall apart. It’s pathetic that people will hold their heads high because they feel the software they’ve chosen to run on their computer is superior to yours.

For each of the three sides there are three visionaries, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Linus Torvalds. Despite their stances on many things I believe the three of them share a common characteristic that has rubbed off to produce software of vast quality.

They complain, a lot.

In my opinion complaining is the most powerful tool for software quality management. If Bill Gates weren’t to give his staff the hairdryer treatment every time they showed signs of a lack of preparation and if Linus weren’t to be so passionate about his software, despite keeping an extremely low profile Linux wouldn’t prospher in the same way that it has.

What I like about these three powerful men is that they are seemingly never happy with software, and in many ways a user should never be blindly happy with an open source product. I hate all of this Linux praising and the constant headlines proclaiming this to be the year of Linux when it’s clearly still lacking as a general desktop OS. If more people were to complain about their software experiences then perhaps the gaping flaws in both Linux and Mac OSX would be clear to see and correct. This is why I believe Windows is still the dominant OS and a lot of Microsoft’s software is still on our machines today. To the techies Microsoft is the underdog and anything they do that is slightly wrong is dragged around the Internet. These people are performing the ultimate quality control on a released product, for free!

The reason why I believe that Open Source will succeed is simply because it provides the best platform for criticism. It’s just a shame that the politics of open source software get in the way of quality software being developed.

If I were to write a piece of software that I intend for others to use the first thing I would do once it is released to the public is to provide a means for suggestions and complaints. Software built on pessimism will turn out better than software built on optimism if you’re an average developer like myself. Whilst I’m still a university student and yet to undertake a substantial coding product my university can provide the next best means for criticism and by viewing the work that others have done in both different courses and different universities I can only better myself by setting large goals for my ability as a Computer Scientist, a Programmer and a Student.

The next time you use a piece of software stop kidding yourself that it is the best piece of software that you’ve ever used. Look past the fact that you rely on it and look at where it is flawed, then proceed to complain about it and file necessary bug reports if needed. A lesson I learned not too long ago was that there’s no harm in complaining and keeping your options open, whether it be for a new job or a new piece of software.