Technology has always had tremendous potential to lead us into a more sustainable future. In the second half of this century, the world's record-keeping systems have gone from paper libraries, to strips of tape, to a series of ones and zeros occupying fractions of a millimeter on a disk. The reduced resource use, energy consumption, and the increased ease of access cannot be overstated. But many have cited the increased pace of obsolescence and the rise of so-called "beta culture" as seriously negative side effects.

In a recent article on technology blog Gizmodo, writer Jesus Diaz took the technology industry as a whole to task for releasing a variety of products before they are completely ready -- in "beta" state, in industry parlance. Diaz's objections didn't have a geen tinge; it's the lack of quality that he objects to.

Products as widely used and varied as Microsoft Vista, the iPhone, and several different types of Blu-ray player have been problematic due to bad drivers, buggy or otherwise flawed software, and other problems that, years ago, would have been resolved before a product's release to the general public.

Backing his argument, Diaz cites some of his parents' electronics, which, while over three decades old, continue to run to this day without interruption. While I agree that this run-for-decades product model should be the gold standard that all companies pursue, I do question his assertion that the so-called "beta culture" is a bad thing.

While software issues are highly frustrating, they are also easily corrected. As recently as a few years ago, a software update would have required a software maker to write a patch, produce a run of CDs containing that patch, and ship those CDs to outlets, which would then distribute them for free to users who wanted them.

Wiith the advent of digital distribution, updates can be quickly and efficiently delivered to all users, with no more effort needed than a few clicks of the mouse. What was once a carbon-heavy, energy-intensive procedure now has negligible impacts on the environment and the bottom line.

Take the example of OS X. When the operating system first shipped, it was widely reviled as a buggy, overly-ambitious mess. But it took the important step of retaining compatibility with the vast majority of Apple's then-current product line, allowing existing hardware to remain useful and keeping hundreds of thousands of computers out of landfills. Thus, while the software did create some hassles, the end result a few years down the line was reliable, functional software that required no premature disposal of hardware systems.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that not-ready-for-primetime product releases are a good thing. Hardware issues, especially those that require a trip to an authorized dealer to correct, are far more environmentally deleterious than any software bug. But so long as the issues inherent in a rushed release can be corrected with a simple software patch, our digital-download culture takes a lot of the environmental sting out of our beta culture.