Just what qualifies as a "beta" these days?
This Beta Be Good
Just what qualifies as a "beta" these days?
- By Em C. Pea
- December 01, 1998
Once again, my editor had to roust me out of bed and
threaten to cut off my supply of Yoo Hoo and Ring Dings
to get me to submit my column. I was legitimately able
to claim the worlds oldest excuse: Ive
been busy, and I dont mean busy watching streaming
reruns of Dobie Gillis and Ozzie and Harriet on MY NEW
CABLE MODEM (yaaahh-hoo!). Nope, I was busy doing the
same thing Im sure most of my loving readers do
every day: drowsing through meetings.
A colleague, who was drowsing through the same meeting,
complained to me that one task that consumed most of her
time was managing the software development process. Problem
is, she was really hired as a software developer. In an
ideal world, software developers cut code while project
managers manage the process. In this world, she spends
nearly all of her waking moments updating project schedules
in Microsoft Project, modifying task lists in Outlook/Exchange,
managing source code files in Visual SourceSafe, and feeding
her Tamagotchi. This leaves little time to actually write
software. Im sure many of you find yourself having
to do two jobs, and nothing ever gets done.
In software development, the only way to develop complex
applications successfully is to manage the development
process rigorously. This means carefully designing the
application, data model, and business rules; ensuring
that the functional spec describes a solution that meets
the end users needs; keeping enough beer and pizza
on hand for the programmers; and drowsing through plenty
of meetings.
Since programmers, who are supposed to be writing software,
are often put in charge of managing the process, its
a wonder that any software ever makes it beyond beta testing.
All of which is a transparent attempt on my part to segue
into the real topic of this column: What the heck is a
beta?
Does It Get any Beta than This?
Can somebody explain to me what exactly is a beta,
anyway? I know what its supposed to be. With MY
NEW CABLE MODEM (yaaahh-hoo!) I know Im beta testing
because Im the first person connecting to this particular
router. Im also one of a handful of customers to
use this particular cable modem model. This meant several
hunky linemen had to spend three days in my house trying
to get the modem and router to sync. Even after all of
that, the modem stopped working a few hours after they
left, so theyll have to come back. Darn.
It seems that most betas these days are simply ways for
ISVs to ship a 1.0 release without worrying about the
press crucifying them for selling buggy software. In most
cases, you can even purchase the beta as if it were a
final release. Remember Netscape Navigator? As I recall,
its first public release was called a beta.
My favorite example, though, is RealAudioits
always in beta! Sure, you can download an old release.
But if you do, itll notify you that an upgrade is
available. What is this upgrade? Why, its
the next beta, of course. As of this writing, you can
download and purchase the RealPlayer Plus G2 Beta. What
I dont understand is this: If its still in
beta testing, why are they selling it?
Microsoft, on the other hand, seems to be doing something
right for a change. As of this writing, Microsoft SQL
Server 7.0 Beta 3 is available to the public. Its
apparently a stable productMicrosoft recently announced
that all of its mission-critical systems have been converted
to SQL 7 B3. Even though its stable enough for mission-critical
enterprise use, you can download it but you still cant
buy it! Youll have to wait for the final release
to give Microsoft any money for it. I must laud Microsoft
for making this apparently stable product available, while
continuing to test and get feedback before shipping a
final release.
At the end of the day, whats more important: Making
an extra buck today or earning the goodwill of tomorrows
customers? I may just be suffering Yoo Hoo withdrawal,
but I think the latter is infinitely more important. So,
if youve got a new software product and you want
to start selling it, show some courage and call it a final
release. If youre not ready to do that, dont
sell it.
About the Author
Em C. Pea, MCP, is a technology consultant, writer and now budding nanotechnologist who you can expect to turn up somewhere writing about technology once again.