For the humour impaired, yesterday's rant was mostly a joke. While I can't fix your software problems, figuring out why they happen to customers is an important part of software engineering - learning from mistakes.

I find that software designers tend to make the same mistakes over and over in different products instead of using their previous knowledge. Probably because they think in their infinite wisdom that everyone is a bleeding-edger like them and will prefer their new and improved way. No, regular people like the expected and learning something new (especially on a computer) takes effort.

The Winamp version 3 rewrite was a great example of this -- it made people scratch their heads. But what are you going to do, it's free.

When I try to help people and can't find a solution some of them think I've somehow wasted the last six years of my life on my education. It confounds me that they could draw such a conclusion, but whatever ... I can't help what other people think. :)