why betas should be more open

[michael e dziatkowicz]

I think betas should be more open because almost as soon as they are
released they find bugs they hadn't expected and they continue to find bugs
until the last person that used the program finally uninstalls it. I know
you will never totally get rid of all bugs but if the beta programs were
more open to the public from the get go and had more people filing bug
reports then maybe there would be less updates released a month after the
programs hit stores shelves because a critical bug was found.

I'm not saying the answer is a totally open beta program because I'm not
sure what that would do the Microsoft's applications and how microsoft could
deal with that many people testing an application at once. I'm just saying
let more people test it. Don't limit it to 100,000 testers let 1million test
it if you can or it not 500,000 or 750,000 people test it.
Ok now let the comment period begin.

 

[Zack Whittaker]

I think you'll find that an awful lot of people have legitimate copies of
Windows Vista. Being careful in what I say, there's certainly a lot of
people who "beta test" and many who use MSDN Subscriptions to get copies
(but not necessarily beta test), but going off rough figures, there's well
over 450,000 Microsoft Connect registered beta testers worldwide...

.... so that's quite a few people, and don't forget there's a public preview
next month as well )

--
Zack Whittaker
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» This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no
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of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared
that up!

--: Original message follows :--

 

[michael e dziatkowicz]

I think you'll find that an awful lot of people have legitimate copies of
Windows Vista. Being careful in what I say, there's certainly a lot of
people who "beta test" and many who use MSDN Subscriptions to get copies
(but not necessarily beta test), but going off rough figures, there's well
over 450,000 Microsoft Connect registered beta testers worldwide...

... so that's quite a few people, and don't forget there's a public
preview next month as well )

--
Zack Whittaker
» ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk
» MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org
» Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk
» This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no
rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and
not
of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared
that up!

--: Original message follows :--

You SHOULDN'T have to pay for a BETA. It SHOULD be FREE. Sorry for the caps
but I'm trying to make a point here. If it was release software then yes I'd
be willing to pay for it, but since Microsoft won't let me into their
operating systems or office betas I have to pay for their public previews.
Also I can't afford to pay $700/year for msdn when they only release
operating systems every 5 years now. What would I get in the other 4 years?
I'm just trying to make a point. When I said a million I mean per
application not whole company. Like 1 million testers for vista before it
went public preview, same for office and ie. Then maybe when it goes to
launch it wouldn't have so many critical bugs that cause x number of
machines to crash when they install it on the first try.

 

[Slugsie]

You don't have to pay for beta, you pay for MSDN which gets you a whole lot
more than just beta software. The access to beta is just a bonus part of the
package. Also, getting onto the full Tech Beta is free, you just have to be
on the right website at the rigfht time, or know the right MS insiders.

The only time I have ever paid anything for MS beta software was back in the
Win98 public beta when I paid a shipping fee for the CD to be sent to me (no
way was I going to download it with my dial-up).

 

[Steven Wabik]

can someone here help me sign up for msdn so i can be a beta tester for
Windows Vista?

 

[Slugsie]

<banging head on wall>

 

[Steven Wabik]

well sorry, but you don't have to hurt yourself over it.

 

[Tom Lake]

can someone here help me sign up for msdn so i can be a beta tester for Windows
Vista?

Go to

http://msdn1.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx

and follow the directions. Be warned: It's not cheap!

Tom Lake

 

[Steven Wabik]

damn, your right, nevermind then.

Go to

http://msdn1.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx

and follow the directions. Be warned: It's not cheap!

Tom Lake

 

[Key Pounder]

Steven Wabik wrote:
| damn, your right, nevermind then.
| <chop> Be warned: It's not cheap!
||
|| Tom Lake

I'd wait for the public beta release .. the rumour mill says there's to be
one very soon - sometime in April - and it will be a newer and better build
than 5308.

 

[Mark Gillespie]

It seems pretty random as to who gets beta invites, and who not. I wonder
out of those 450,000 connect beta members, how many NEVER file bug
reports, and just use it to get early access to the software, without
giving anything back. 30% I reckon. Also potential beta testers are not
selected (it seems) on their technical ability, nor willingness to
particpate, just the MS Lottery...

 

[Zack Whittaker]

Ahh it's not random - it's usually based on feedback given on other beta's -
bigger beta's usually need firepower from the testers to get off the ground,
so lots of bugs on previous betas, lots of previous betas, it all helps )

--
Zack Whittaker
» ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk
» MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org
» Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk
» This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no
rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not
of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared
that up!

--: Original message follows :--

It seems pretty random as to who gets beta invites, and who not. I wonder
out of those 450,000 connect beta members, how many NEVER file bug
reports, and just use it to get early access to the software, without
giving anything back. 30% I reckon. Also potential beta testers are not
selected (it seems) on their technical ability, nor willingness to
particpate, just the MS Lottery...

 

[Steven Wabik]

when i find a bug in XP i usually submit it, while in the mean time i make
my own fix. i did that befor SP2 came out. now most of those issues are
fixed. its to bad sp2 made more issues then fixes. maybe microsoft will do
better vista.

It seems pretty random as to who gets beta invites, and who not. I wonder
out of those 450,000 connect beta members, how many NEVER file bug
reports, and just use it to get early access to the software, without
giving anything back. 30% I reckon. Also potential beta testers are not
selected (it seems) on their technical ability, nor willingness to
particpate, just the MS Lottery...

 

[Andre Da Costa [Extended64]]

Part of it is luck and having friends at Microsoft it seems.
--
--
Andre
Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com
Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com
Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre
http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta


It seems pretty random as to who gets beta invites, and who not. I wonder
out of those 450,000 connect beta members, how many NEVER file bug
reports, and just use it to get early access to the software, without
giving anything back. 30% I reckon. Also potential beta testers are not
selected (it seems) on their technical ability, nor willingness to
particpate, just the MS Lottery...

 

[Steven Wabik]

i ran into some nice people. i got two free copies of Windows XP with
embeded SP2. one was home and one was pro. i got them through help and
support. i had a 4403us back then. it came with a CD that was pre sp1.

 

[michael e dziatkowicz]

i ran into some nice people. i got two free copies of Windows XP with
embeded SP2. one was home and one was pro. i got them through help and
support. i had a 4403us back then. it came with a CD that was pre sp1.

How do you make friends at Microsoft? I'm being serious, I really want to
beta test operating systems, office and internet explorer for microsoft.
Does it help that when the dialog box pops up that says "do you want to send
a report to microsoft" most of the time I click yes and send a report?

 

[Steven Wabik]

yes it is. the first time i did beta testing for microsoft i got something
good out of it instead of paying to be a msdn subscriber which costs a lot.
and i did not have to pay anything to do that. i have friends in high
places.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

"I'm not saying the answer is a totally open..."
So you would limit it as well.
Just where would you draw the line?
Like any other organization, Microsoft has to deal with limited resources.
In part this may mean they need to draw the line somewhere or there may be
simply to much data for them to deal with.

There are already many paths to get Vista legitimately.
MSDN and Technical Beta are the most common.
But Some business partners get it as well as some hardware and software
manufacturers so they can prepare for Vista during the development process.
This may account in part for the numbers of testers that appear inactive
while they are actually very active.

 

[Andre Da Costa [Extended64]]

"Does it help that when the dialog box pops up that says "do you want to
send
a report to microsoft" most of the time I click yes and send a report?"

No, it does not, you could send those things in till eternity, it does not
get you into anything, just Microsoft looking for honest feedback thats all
with no strings attached.

Getting into a Microsoft Beta can be very difficult or easy, depending on
the application, take for instance, the easiest beta to get into right now
would be Windows Defender because its public. But for a BETA like Office
2007, its all about luck, your hardware and how you answer the survey prior
to being accepted into any beta.
--
--
Andre
Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com
Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com
Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre
http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta

 

[Zack Whittaker]

Good start is doing something good for them - do something that they'd
notice, develop something they want, or just be lucky and happen to bump
into them on the street ) How do you meet ordinary people? Just do that in
the computing world!

--
Zack Whittaker
» ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk
» MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org
» Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk
» This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no
rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not
of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared
that up!

--: Original message follows :--