Lisa Retief

Abraham Lincoln originally said this, according to quoteworld.org. I don’t know what triggered my memory of this quote, but I woke up thinking it and how apt it is on so many levels, but particularly when it comes to how we are going to be using software from now on.

For the first time in the history of software users (and I don’t mean corporate software buyers or developers) can input into what and how software will form part of their lives. And it will be a part of their lives, via a mobile phone or television, or through sharing videos and photos, all the way through to paying taxes and writing novels. Users are going to be slammed with choice, methods of feedback, and the simple option of terminating one service and moving to another without downtime or loss of data.

It poses a very special challenge to those who want to deliver these software services.

Update

I discovered the unconscious source of the Abraham Lincoln quote trigger – I read a blog entry the previous day which contained a similar quote.