William Sommerwerck wrote:
Documentation is considered an afterthought in many firms.
Years ago, I adopted the approach of writing the *manual* for
any product that I designed *before* designing the product (!).

The man who created "Mathematica" did exactly that. It is a terrific idea,
because it puts the focus on how the user interacts with the product, before
any code is written.

I think it results in a more robust product. It is a relatively
well-contained (temporally) task so you can remember almost
everything that you have written/defined even while you are
putting on the finishing touches. So, inconsistencies are
usually fresh in your mind: "Gee, I did something LIKE
this someplace else but did it *differently*; why?"

The same sort of approach also applies to things that don't
have "traditional" user-interfaces. E.g., creating an API
that another programmer might have to "use" -- even though
the END user never is aware of it.

I just updated the firmware for my Sony BD player. The Website
did not explain how to access the new features. I had to call and
have the question escalated to level 2 before getting an answer.

I'm surprised they even *supported* the firmware upgrade!
I think they count on consumers replacing kit every couple of
years so why bother adding any cost if a new model will be out...

Some products have become so complex that manufacturers have no choice to
put the firmware in flash memory, so it can fixed if bugs or omissions are
found.

Yes, understood. It makes sense from a manufacturing standpoint
(since you can load the firmware "late" in the manufacturing
process). I am just surprised that they were making this
available to the "end user". (as it adds a maintenance cost)

If Sony, et al, didn't provide updates, at least some customers would

Yes. But would *enough* complain that it would "hurt them"?
My experience has been that most users don't even know how
to fully utilize most of the things they own (i.e., the
blinking 12:00 on the VCR syndrome) and those things see
rapid turnover.

complain. In this case, the BDP-S560 included freeze-frame and slow-motion
features missing from my BDP-S550. So it probably wasn't too hard to update
the earlier product.

My plasma TV and my digital SLRs (including the lenses!) use flash firmware.
I'm hoping the TV will be upgradeable to 3D (but who knows?). In the case of
the cameras, the manufacturers are correcting bugs and adding features. If
they didn't do this, there'd be a lot of kvetching from customers -- and
possibly class-action lawsuits.