why betas should be more open

[Steven Wabik]

i would like to test office 2007 can someone help me with that so i can test
that beta?

 

[Mark Gillespie]

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
)

I submitted a fair few bug reports on 2003 R2 beta, but got nada invites
for Vista :-( I may wotk fairly, but it feels like a lottery sometimes...
Was at Microsoft UK campus today on a Embedded XP seminar, and met someone
I knew, should have tapped him up

 

[Steven Wabik]

no one i know really submites bug reports at all but i do all the time yetr
i never get invited to test vista. getting invited to test a beta is to
random inless you pay the company to do so.

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
)

I submitted a fair few bug reports on 2003 R2 beta, but got nada invites
for Vista :-( I may wotk fairly, but it feels like a lottery sometimes..
Was at Microsoft UK campus today on a Embedded XP seminar, and met someone
I knew, should have tapped him up

 

[michael e dziatkowicz]

"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.

They need to get more end users involved in the beta testing phase so there
are less critical bugs in applications when they are released. I'd say draw
the line at between 1 and 2 million that seems about fair or make it a semi
open beta process. Where critical builds are available to the public to test
and report bugs on and a smaller number of testers get weekly or semi-weekly
builds of applications.

 

[michael e dziatkowicz]

"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

So what is the next BIG beta that I should be looking for on the connect
site to signup for?

 

[Mike Williams]

They need to get more end users involved in the beta testing phase so there
are less critical bugs in applications when they are released. I'd say draw
the line at between 1 and 2 million that seems about fair or make it a semi
open beta process. Where critical builds are available to the public to test
and report bugs on and a smaller number of testers get weekly or semi-weekly
builds of applications.

How many people do you think it would take to read and process
bug-reports from 1-2 million people?

 

[Andre Da Costa [Extended64]]

Windows Fiji
--
Andre
Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com
Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre
http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
FAQ for MS AntiSpy http://www.geocities.com/marfer_mvp/FAQ_MSantispy.htm

 

[Andre Da Costa [Extended64]]

All of the major bugs have been resolved long ago, and if there any you
notice now, they are already known issues, so need for additional testers.
--
Andre
Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com
Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre
http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
FAQ for MS AntiSpy http://www.geocities.com/marfer_mvp/FAQ_MSantispy.htm

 

[Zack Whittaker]

I'll be working for Microsoft from July onwards - shouldda given me a shout
) It's too late to sign up though, had word from the beta team and they've
asked some people owning techy blogs around the web to stop linking to
certain places because they can't fit anyone else on.

--
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 :--

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
)

I submitted a fair few bug reports on 2003 R2 beta, but got nada invites
for Vista :-( I may wotk fairly, but it feels like a lottery sometimes..
Was at Microsoft UK campus today on a Embedded XP seminar, and met someone
I knew, should have tapped him up

 

[michael e dziatkowicz]

Windows Fiji
--
Andre
Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com
Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre
http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
FAQ for MS AntiSpy http://www.geocities.com/marfer_mvp/FAQ_MSantispy.htm

is that a real beta and when will signups begin for that if it is a real
beta?

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Michael;
Where do you come up with those numbers?
Do you know how many Beta testers there are at this time?
Assuming for a moment there are half as many as you want, who will monitor
the increased submissions since the team seems swamped at this time.

If the numbers were raised as you suggest and you were not selected, would
you then ask for a raise to 3 - 4 million?

There are already a comprehensive cross section from typical end users to
developers, IT personnel, etc.
They cover probably every job you can think of as well as a great many
countries.
There is a very diverse group.

Finally as has already been suggested, resources are limited (even for
Microsoft) it is not always possible to add more of anything, even non paid
Beta testers since it still costs resources.

There are options for everyone interested in trying Vista.
MSDN and Tech Net for a cost, but you get a whole lot more than Vista. If
you have a spare powerful enough computer for Vista, the cheaper of those is
not unreasonable.
The Public Preview probably coming in the next few months.

 

[Andre Da Costa [Extended64]]

Its not expected until 2008 (rumour, not confirmed)
--
Andre
Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com
Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre
http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
FAQ for MS AntiSpy http://www.geocities.com/marfer_mvp/FAQ_MSantispy.htm

 

[Andre Da Costa [Extended64]]

That beta is full and not taking anymore, wait until the public release
becomes available.
--
Andre
Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com
Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre
http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
FAQ for MS AntiSpy http://www.geocities.com/marfer_mvp/FAQ_MSantispy.htm