New York -- People for Ethical Treatment of Software (PETS)
announced today that seven more software companies have been added to
the group's "watch list" of companies that regularly practice software testing.
"There is no need for software to be mistreated in this
way so that companies like these can market new products," said Ken Grandola,
spokesperson for PETS. "Alternative methods of testing these
products are available."
According to PETS, these companies force software to undergo
lengthly and arduous tests, often without rest, for hours or days at a
time. Employees are assigned to "break" the software by any means
necessary, and inside sources report that they often joke about "torturing" the software.
"It's no joke," said Grandola. "Innocent programs,
from the day they are compiled, are cooped up in tiny rooms and "crashed" for hours
on end. They spend their whole lives on dirty, ill-maintained
computers, and are unceremoniously deleted when they're not needed anymore."
Grandola said the software is kept in unsanitary conditions
and is infested with bugs.
"We know that alternatives to this horror exist," he said,
citing industry giant
Microsoft©®TM Corporation
as a company that has become successful without resorting to software testing.