JimKnopf wrote:
Looking at the last firmware bringing new bugs especially for the composite and component users, my summary is there wasn’t any (beta) testing in this area at all otherwise they wouldn’t have made this version released to the public.
But that’s where we’re seeing it differently… I personally think the bugs were known, but the decision came from on high to release it anyways. They’d already had people clamoring for 8 months for a GPT fix, and were losing sales of both drives and players until large drives got supported. I’d think the new bugs weren’t “worth” holding up the GPT fix for another 2 or 3 months… they wanted the fix out _ now _, and if folks had to adjust the settings every time the box was powered on and the text for audio and subtitles was improperly justified, those were seen as minor inconveniences by whoever makes the decisions. I’m not saying I agree or defend the decision, but I at least understand it, from a business point of view. And that’s why, in this case, I’m saying further testing wouldn’t have made a lick of difference.
So, while there are some things that testing should be catching, and isn’t, I don’t think lack of testing is the root problem in customer dissatisfaction. I see the bigger problem as being the choices of what to release and when.
It seems pretty clear that “maintenance releases” don’t exist, and the only fixes we see are part of newer builds. I see no physical reason (since the chip is identical) why the .mkv fix couldn’t have been compiled in to a Gen2 firmware last year – the code should be the same… now that the GPT fix is around, again there doesn’t seem to be any reason (other than the obvious fact that WD isn’t selling Gen2’s anymore, and a fix won’t lead to increased sales, so there’s nothing “in it” for them) to not patch the Gen2 firmware.
I don’t even own a Gen2, so it’s not like I’m personally bitter that these fixes seem simple and don’t seem likely to see the light of day.
But, across the whole line, it’s the decisions that I have issues with, moreso than the actual testing of any particular build.
I think the (apparent) conclusion that there’s “no point” in updating the Gen2, because it won’t lead to new sales of the box, and because anyone still using it, instead of buying newer players, isn’t likely to be out buying the newest, most expensive hard drives, is false. I think WD would be much better, in the long run, biting the bullet and dishing out some goodwill. Instead of having folks grumpy, they’d have folks who keep WD in mind for their next purchases. I think it would be overall “worth it”, but I’m not the one making the decisions. I’m just some guy who’s willing to spout off on the internet.
I’d think that many fixes are “ready” long before we see them… we only see them when WD has a new build worked out. For all I know, this may make financial sense. I have no clue how much it costs to fix a bug, and what the cost is, in terms of sales, to leave it for a few months while something shiny and new is hammered out.
It seems like a very large portion of the vocal community who posts here (whether 1 post or 10,000), aren’t happy with the way things are done in terms of fixes, or lack thereof. But I personally think WD needs to hear us screaming about that, before they listen to us screaming about their testing procedures, and what bugs make it to the end user. Your mileage may vary.
