alt Hacker News"We make software just like how Ford makes cars".
People who say this kind of thing probably have no idea how Ford makes cars either. The assembly line is the last step. All the research, design, engineering, and testing happens before any sheet metal is stamped out. So the comparison might be more true than not, but unknowingly.
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Yes, they confuse development with manufacturing/assembly.
Atleast 90% of the time whenever someone mentions Ford it is to spew out Ford PR garbage they once heard that they took as real history instead of the marketing it really is. It really should be held up as an example of how powerful well designed PR is and the myths it generates.
It's not true at all. In software, the factory line is nothing but cp or httpd and neither costs nor produces any value. In cars, the factory line both costs and produces all the value.
Exactly. It's just that they mix up the steps. The last step, the assembly, is highly automated and usually very fast in software production, since it is done by a compiler (and the aptly named, assembler). The people involved are doing engineering and design, which is much harder to control.