04/07/97 GLITCHES GALORE: THAT'S EDUTAINMENT

GLITCHES GALORE: THAT'S EDUTAINMENT

CONSUMERS HAVE LEARNED TO LIVE WITH OCCASIONAL faults in software. But a company that tests software says bugs in edutainment programs have become an epidemic. Turning Point Software tested the 10 most popular titles and found enough bugs to make even the most experienced user squirm--more than 300 in all, including 80 that caused crashes or wiped out data.
Turning Point won't name names for fear of turning off potential clients. But the top 10 titles of 1996 include Walt Disney Co.'s Toy Story Animated Storybook and CUC Software's Math Blaster, according to PC Data. ''Perfection in this business is probably not attainable,'' says Steve Fields, general manager of Disney Software. Still, Fields and other software executives called the survey inconclusive and self-serving.
One-third of the bugs cropped up during installation. ''Developers have to cut corners somewhere, and quality assurance is the easiest place,'' says Josh Bernoff of Forrester Research Inc. The testers also uncovered a special method for keeping customers: Six of the 10 products had no mechanism to remove the program automatically once it has been installed.
By Paul Judge
EDITED BY IRA SAGER