When I was a kid in the 90s, I found it funny to roam through the supermarket bargain bin full of CD-ROMs or check the newsstand for the latest shovelware software collection CDs. Every once in a while, I would buy one out of curiosity. As a young developer, I just wanted to know what software is out there.

And to be honest, most of the shovelware was written in VB or Delphi. Often entirely incomplete GUIs, as if someone hastly clicked it together with the wysiwyg and called it a day. Most of the 90s slop didn't work either, just like today's slop. Software like "Great Gourmet", "Bible Explorer", "Diet & Fitness", "Gourmet Desserts" or "Easy Home Gardening" were nieche shovelware that was essentially nothing more than a website, brochure or magazine. Little to no interactivity, simply content provided as a software GUI which allowed you to browse through it.

Things like "Greeting Card Maker" and "Birthday Newsletters" were basic applications recycled a hundred times. The only difference in the software packages was that they came with different templates, but instead of buying templates for word processors, you bought an "entire app" specialized in the use case of writing birthday greeting cards. If you needed wedding invitations, then that was a different one.

I seriously don't remember anyone using shovelware more than once or twice. Most of the people abandoned those and went with their professional counterparts, which were significantly more expensive. Actually quite a positive impact for professional software since shovelware raised awareness for various software categories.

Today's slop isn't any different to ye olde shovelware in 95. When Windows 95 hit the shelve, the shovelware business exploded just like today's software slop does. What surprises me though is the outcry we have today. Back in the day, no one really cared about "Nutrition Expert" by "Fitness Software Systems", "Personal Roots Deluxe" or "Andrew Tobia$ Checkwrite Plus".

Why is everyone suddenly so obsessed with it? When I see the latest sloppy SaaS, I immediately see the shovelware bargain bins in front of my eyes. Users fall for it for the same reason, finding a cheap alternative or not researching options properly thinking they made a quick bargain.

Can't we just accept its existence and do what we always did, largely ignore it?