beta usage

[Steve Mills]

On Jun 11, 2008, at 05:32:08, Rick Gaskin wrote:

> what is the correct procedure for using the latest beta??
>
> if i am not mistaken (which I often am) we what to:
>
> 1. download the beta
>
> 2. archive existing C8
>
> 3. install beta in the application folder
>
> 4. use
>
> 5. smile
>
> i bring this to everyones attention becuase, upon the release of the  
> last beta, i went totally live with it...and if recall that probably  
> wasn't the smartest idea


Somewhere - and I have no idea where this would be these days - there  
is a statement that says something akin to "do NOT use betas in  
production." We here all say it and always have said it to customers,  
because it seems that so many of our customers ignore this warning and  
do it anyway, then they get in a panic when the beta is about to  
expire and they need to get an issue out.

A beta is a pre-release build of an application, which contains bug  
fixes that have been verified by our internal testing department, but  
still might appear as non-working in other environments. The "other  
environments" parts is a huge deal, because there are hundreds of  
variables that come into play, and one company's testing department  
can never duplicate more than a handful of those conditions.

People use betas to a) help out the software developer by ensuring  
that the new version of the application is stable and b) to verify  
that bugs they've reported have been fixed. And there's also c) to see  
what any new features are like before the rest of the world gets to  
see them.

Here's the correct procedure:

1. Download beta.

2. Install beta. It will be installed in a beta folder and should not  
affect normal release installations. (Older versions of Creator would  
install the beta in the normal release folder, but the beta app would  
still be installed alongside the untouched release app, so the user  
could still choose which to use.)

3. Read the ReadMe that comes with the installer to learn about fixed  
bugs or known issues. Yes, some betas will have known issues. The  
ReadMe will warn you about them, so you can't whine if you click the  
"Don't Click Me or Your Computer Will Explode!" button and your  
computer explodes.

4. Use beta for non-critical tasks. Work on duplicates of production  
documents.

5. Promptly report any problems you find.

6. Smile because you're allowed to be a part of the beta testing so  
freely, because many companies don't do this, which often leads to  
incredibly buggy release versions.

_________________________________________________________
Steve Mills                              Me: 952-401-6255
Senior Software Architect                         MultiAd
smills at multiad.com                       www.multi-ad.com