If coding has been solved, why does software keep getting worse? • Hacker News Board

Re: If coding has been solved, why does software keep getting worse?

#621

Post by Y-bar » Sat, Jul 25, 2026, 2:31 PM UTC

pixl97 wrote: post #612

Y-bar wrote: post #557

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn’t ask for a single of these ”features” for example: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iphfed2c4091/io... If our entire profession is unable to provide a better quality over the long term maybe it is time to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask ourselves ”wtf are we doing”? We are constantly churning out worse and worse products.

Right, you're the only person who buys software on this planet... The software world has little to do with what software gets built, instead focus on the capital industry and you'll find your answers.

You say that as if I’m not acutely aware of the issues. I am ashamed that I am part of the problem.

Re: If coding has been solved, why does software keep getting worse?

#622

Post by hellectronic » Sat, Jul 25, 2026, 2:44 PM UTC

mancerayder wrote: post #277

> We’ve reached a point where an update to macOS — or to any app I rely on, really — is a source of dread rather than excitement. I now expect the new version to be worse. I actually relate to that. It used to be cool and exciting to update to see what new things are coming for free. I was just looking up what Fedora Workstation 45 might bring. Updates on phones, TV's, cars and non-Linux operating systems on PC's/lap…

I can relate too. I reached a point (as a software engineer), that shitti functioning software annoys me so much. Functions that are just annoying that no one really asked about, functions that are so bad designed that I really ask myself who the beep is really responsible and accountable to sign off this crap. AI should help us really make this small but time consuming implementations better too, not just shipping more and more crappy stuff.

Re: If coding has been solved, why does software keep getting worse?

#623

Post by swat535 » Sat, Jul 25, 2026, 3:10 PM UTC

willchis wrote: post #145

mrkeen wrote: post #17

I agree that software becoming worse (in some sense) but I don't blame AI. My experiences as a user haven't really changed. Streamers fail to cast to TVs. Browsers are devices which reliably and efficiently propagate red console text and 500s from companies to you. I still see bluescreens on public touchscreens. Uncle Bob nailed one reason why the industry isn't getting better: the growth of programmers is exponentia…

> 'Focus on happy path only, for the MVP' is how you build buggy software. Good developers can learn that this will guarantee the need for a rewrite in the future, but POs never will. And then when the MVP is done, it magically becomes the shippable product. Then just when the team is getting to grips with how to improve the product, management does a reshuffle and moves teams around. "EXCITING NEWS GUYS, congratulat…

> And then when the MVP is done, it magically becomes the shippable product

There is a reason for this: no one cares about bugs. Cramming down features for sales to close the deals is all that matters.

Ran into a bug? Who cares, people will just refresh the page or restart their computers. Average consumers already treat their computers like appliances, they happily wait 15 minutes for a page to load and are willing to swim in an ocean of ads.

If we want quality software, it has to be tied to the bottom line somehow. So far, it doesn't seem to be the case.

Re: If coding has been solved, why does software keep getting worse?

#624

Post by quacked » Sat, Jul 25, 2026, 3:24 PM UTC

madduci wrote: post #593

chii wrote: post #587

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Everything should be delivered in the fastest way possible, in the shortest time possible, on the tightest budget possible. because companies that did this is rewarded with more users and more revenue (than a hypothetical competitor that didnt). Darwinian natural selection is about survival of the fittest, not survival of the "best looking" or "best performing". And the determination of fitness is by the actions of…

This happens because of capitalism. In a few years will have a cemetery of software and products locked behind DRM or requiring a remote connection to a server that won't exist anymore, because it's too expensive to maintain. It is already happening, the effect will be much more amplified sooner

The days where middle and high-end goods were of a relatively higher quality were also produced under a capitalist system, though. The US was capitalist when it built my parents' normal washer/dryer combination that lasted for 25 years with no interruptions to service, and it was capitalist when Google was first invented and you could conduct literal string searches on the internet. I don't think there's anything inherent to "capitalism" that causes degradation of product lines that doesn't also cause the creation of the product lines in the first place.

My suspicion is that the "great enshittification" has more to do with the swelling in numbers and purchasing/borrowing power of the lower classes. The middle class now has worse computers and dryers [1], but the lower class now has computers and dryers. Corporations can still make colossal sales numbers with degraded products because they're selling to people for whom possessing a product at all is a major life upgrade, and aren't worried about "the best version of this product". The same is happening to movies and TV.

[1] Many will point out that on paper and in certain metrics modern goods outperform past goods, but I think the extremely high prices commanded by quality vintage and near-vintage goods across all genres of product lines speaks for itself.

Re: If coding has been solved, why does software keep getting worse?

#625

Post by zo1 » Sat, Jul 25, 2026, 3:36 PM UTC

chasd00 wrote: post #287

purpleflashing wrote: post #65

As a non-technical person compared to the rest of HN, I think this has always been the problem of software made for non-technical audiences. The design was driven by programmers’ heuristics and trends in technology stack (e.g. if a company can hire a lot of JS devs bc JS is trending, they will choose JS even regardless of whether JS is the best choice for the problem). There was a brief stint of UX, ergonomics and HM…

people have been complaining about software going downhill ever since hand crafted assembler was replaced with C and a compiler. it's the classic "old man yells at clouds".

It's all too easy to dismiss valid concerns as it's just the boomers/somethings complaining about "back in my day" and everyone getting on their lawn.

Software definitely improved for many decades, then at some point started going downhill. Where that happened is up for debate. But UI/Software/Quality is NOT one of those "oh it's just the new generation complaining about the old days" or old people "reminiscing".

Re: If coding has been solved, why does software keep getting worse?

#626

Post by inigyou » Sat, Jul 25, 2026, 3:41 PM UTC

inigyou wrote: post #591

charcircuit wrote: post #513

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TNT duping is a classic example of how players will optimize the fun out of the game if you give them a chance. Your claim that people won't accidentally run into is not true as it only takes one YouTube tutorial to discover it. Many popular farm designs rely on it so it is not hard to stumble upon it. Remember this is a game where people had to use third party sites to figure out how to discover how to craft anythin…

TNT duping is the minecart boosters of the 2020s. That was a glitch that made minecarts go fast and far. Notch chose to add a simple block that accelerates minecarts and then fix the glitch.

and to be clear, the replacement is much less fun than the original glitch.

Re: If coding has been solved, why does software keep getting worse?

#627

Post by fuzzfactor » Sat, Jul 25, 2026, 3:44 PM UTC

ahartmetz wrote: post #607

0xfaded wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla just released an infuriating update which adds an incomprehensible number of UI nags to start self driving, despite there being a hardware lever that already does so. There's even a big button that says "Start Self Driving" in the valuable visual real estate where the speed limit once was.

I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

There does seem to be growing incentive to make more and more people feel this way . . .

Re: If coding has been solved, why does software keep getting worse?

#628

Post by effnorwood » Sat, Jul 25, 2026, 3:58 PM UTC

Bad drivers and middle management inventions like scrum. Is why.

Re: If coding has been solved, why does software keep getting worse?

#629

Post by chermi » Sat, Jul 25, 2026, 4:03 PM UTC

1) no one who wrote software before llms truly believe it's solved right now 2) shit takes time. Was energy solved the instant we discover nuclear energy?

Re: If coding has been solved, why does software keep getting worse?

#630

Post by duxup » Sat, Jul 25, 2026, 4:05 PM UTC

I don’t really dread or notice macOS updates like windows updates.

I will say that in my experience with AI my code and that of my employer has greatly improved. So maybe there’s a split between big companies and small as far as quality gap?