Re: OMFG
"Expect increasing accident rates as the years go by and appliances are designed more by the "industrial design" people and less by actual clued up engineers.
This applies particularly to software-based systems in recent decades; far too much software is not fit for purpose, defective by design, and yet it's extremely rare for anyone to be held accountable for providng or procuring stuff that isn't fit for purpose."
Yes a lot of poor software is and will continue to be created but not very little of it has any safety impact.
I would be surprised if the SW in a home appliance was required to operate correctly to ensure safety. It is still engineers who are responsible for making things work and pass the appropriate regulatory requirements. Demonstrating that the requirmenst for functional safety for SW are met is rightly very demanding which is why designers avoid it unless absolutely necessary. I do not know what you have against industrial designers but in the real world they work in a team with the engineers. My prediction is that despite an every increasing number of devices overall accident rates decline due to the slow accumulation of knowledge and experience and improvement of regulations and design.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
