Error reporting in the computer world has grown leaps and bounds in the last 10 years. The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) is still around although a Windows XP user hardly ever sees those any more. I did receive one this morning and decided to send the error report to Microsoft. The error reporting window demonstrates both the advances and the struggle with vagueness and/or ambiguity that all error reporting faces.

The specifics are good here, assuming they are correct and not passing the buck. They identify a specific program on my machine that is causing the error. But it is sort of a dead end when the user gets to the “Recommendations” portion of the report. “Contact Sonic Solutions about upgrades or other possible solutions,” is not a solution. I walk away feeling like your Sonic Solutions program is busted, Sonic Solutions is not going to fix it, but they’ll be happy to take my money for an upgrade. Obviously, if this version did not work, I’m not paying out more money to find out if they bothered to fix this serious problem.

When I follow the link to Sonic Solutions, it goes to a general support page. Not helpful and not necessary. Why not have some of the parameters Microsoft used passed to Sonic so that it can know which knowledge base article to bring up? Otherwise, the user is wasting unnecessary time wading through all the products Sonic Solutions offers to find the product that may or may not be the exact product that caused the error.