Comments on: Beta Is Dead

By: Monday, January 19, 2009 — shiner.clay

Monday, January 19, 2009 — shiner.clay — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:49:21 +0000

[...] Why “beta” is official dead. What next? Gamma? [...]

By: The Next New Networks Blog » Blog Archive » Announcing Barely Digital, our latest network

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:09:53 +0000

[...] marked the, um, soft launch (apparently “beta” is dead) of Barely Digital, a new spinoff from the Barely Political [...]

By: links for 2009-01-20 | PhillipDade.com

links for 2009-01-20 | PhillipDade.com — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:15:37 +0000

[...] Beta Is Dead (tags: google internet beta) [...]

By: Scott

Scott — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:30:05 +0000

The term “beta” as used by the software industry implies to users that a product is not well tested and, if it should fail, the vendor may not recover the user’s experience (data, production, etc). Only in an indirect way does it have to do with the frequency of updating products. I suspect (but certainly don’t know) that Google continues to label Gmail as “beta” for liability purposes. It’s softer to say that than to tell folks they’re stupid for relying on Gmail for one’s livelihood.

By: Planned Obsolescence » Blog Archive » MediaCommons

Planned Obsolescence » Blog Archive » MediaCommons — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:48:56 +0000

[...] things over there, so excuse any oddnesses you may run into; we’d call this release a beta if that term were really useful anymore. But we look forward to seeing — and more importantly, to hearing from you — [...]

By: Beta Is Dead [Voices] | LinkTouch

Beta Is Dead [Voices] | LinkTouch — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:05:00 +0000

[...] Read the rest of this post [...]

By: Bookmarks for January 20th from 10:35 to 10:49 | Francois is running on the Sidewalk

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:17:46 +0000

[...] Beta Is Dead – [...]

By: Beta Is Dead | Blake Snow | Voices | AllThingsD

Beta Is Dead | Blake Snow | Voices | AllThingsD — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:04:55 +0000

[...] Read the rest of this post Print all_things_di220:http://voices.allthingsd.com/20090120/beta-is-dead/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Beta Is Dead", url: "http://voices.allthingsd.com/20090120/beta-is-dead/" }); Sphere Comment Tagged: Blake Snow, GigaOm, Gmail, Google, Google News, Larry Page, Voices, beta, branding, community, development cycle, messaging, non-beta, paradigm shift | permalink [...]

By: Kimber Lockhart

Kimber Lockhart — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:16:19 +0000

Let’s not forget an important reason many web apps launch in beta. You get TWO press rounds. One for launching into Beta and one for coming out of Beta.

By: Jeff Darcy

Jeff Darcy — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:31:58 +0000

Google wasn’t the first to popularize the term. “Beta” had been in common usage, well known not only to developers but to users as well, for a decade before Google was even heard of. Contrary to a belief that seems common among the faddicts, there was a computing world before 1998.

By: Michael Fine

Michael Fine — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:55:59 +0000

As a leading expert in beta testing, I think the statement “beta is dead” is grossly exaggerated. The process of beta testing has never died and its form has not really changed that significantly. However, the perception and use of the word “beta” has evolved a lot as with all words, has developed important changes in connotation.

I have been conducting beta tests for close to 20 years and certainly things are getting much more fluid with the use and application of the word. Google has definitely played haphazardly with the term and used it as an excuse to give people unsupported products. However, the process of doing this is hardly original or uncommon. It’s just more visible.

It is wrong to assume that just because something is constantly evolving that is in a constant state of beta. The transition from beta to release are clearly defined. This article would have been much clearer and more accurate to say ‘beta – as employed by Google – is dead.”

Beta testing is very much alive for web sites, software and hardware. In fact, more and more companies are looking for ways to differentiate their products. Beta testing continues to be used as an effective method for fast moving technology companies to keep in touch with their customer.

By: Michael Fine

Michael Fine — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:52:55 +0000

By: Taylor

Taylor — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:14:48 +0000

Well said! I’ve been annoyed by the term “beta” for 3 years now and its time we put it to rest.

By: bbenedict

bbenedict — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:44:28 +0000

If Beta is dead, then what is a reasonable time to launch a product and how do people collect feedback on their product before launch. Our overall concern, while agreeing that the previously defined concept of beta is dead, is that other aspects of th software process are dieing with beta. We wrote an opinion on one trend here:

http://blog.openmountain.com/2009/01/19/is-2-months-doable/

By: Blake Snow

Blake Snow — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:34:06 +0000

I believe you’re confusing “popularized” with “invented,” Addam.

By: Addam

Addam — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:21:01 +0000

Popularized by Google? My god you guys need to get out more. Beta is a term that has been used to describe pre-release software for decades. Google? Please, this is the last thing they deserve credit for. Next you’ll tell me that they invented PPC and search…