Comments on: How Google Ruined Beta Software

By: Steven Hart

Steven Hart — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:52:45 +0000

Apart from everything the others have said, Beta Versions are a great marketing tools. You get away with glitches because it’s not a production version. You create a buzz. And if you do have a good/great product, you have a user community thats all ready to buy in

By: Bean Bag

Bean Bag — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:14:24 +0000

I agree with your 1st commenter. It is essential to try and get software into the hands of people who wnat to test it. Ironing out bugs is really important if a piece of software is to succeed. Far too often I have tested stuff out and watched my computer crash.
Getting this right before it is launched to the masses is critical.

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:27:14 +0000

As far as i have seen Beta..it is made for some experimental s/w for the programmers to understand the disadvantages of the s/w.... designer furniture

By: Jason Burns

Jason Burns — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:21:47 +0000

Of course Beta is a good thing, the problem is when you build a significant customer base using Beta software in a production setting. With the Windows 7 thing, there was no upgrade from Beta to RTM, it was clear that it was test software, not to be used for anything mission critical.

By: Divorce Lawyer Austin

Divorce Lawyer Austin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:19:12 +0000

I think launching a beta product before the final version is a good thing for software companies it helps the developers discovers glitches to their product and in return can generate a buzz about the brand, just like windows 7 many positive reviews came out even though it was just on beta months ago.