[Sigia-l] Lifespan

[Listera]

If you watch US TV, I'm sure you've seen the "stale beer" commercials. I
don't know what happens to beer in an air-sealed can, but the manufacturers
would like you to believe that there's an 'expiration' date. Life expectancy
of digital products is a similar issue. It's worth tens of billions of
dollars to Microsoft or Intel, for example. If software could come with a
"Best Used By:_________" sticker, they'd probably sell it that way.

There are technical parameters to pre-gauge the lifespan of an app fairly
well. But what I'm interested in is a discussion of *non-technical*
expectations. What do marketing/business/manager/accounting people think
about the lifespan of online apps? Has been it lengthened or shortened in
the post-dotcom era? How do your clients approach this issue? Are you always
asked to 'build for the future'? For the old timers, can you see a
difference between expectations now and those of a decade or two ago? Are we
in a disposable application age?

Ziya
Nullius in Verba