Beta, What is it? Do I want it?

Question

I need a very simple anwere please, but probly long answere.

Remember folks I came off my horse at lighingspeed, ( months in hospital.
I have literally had to go from grade school through college in 9 months.
Most is coming back, But I lost 2 years of Computer classes.
I think they went were ever it is the mon missing sock in the the dryer goes.

The last time I asked a computor related question, I could not believe the the rudeness.

I felt and still do as if I am getting answere's from High Schooler's.

I spent 10 years in the White House, with my Husband.

Majority of answere's are what we decussed at dinner, regarding our youth. Lack of manners, wise mouths ect.

Sorry but I need to regain a lot of knowledge in a short time.

Be kind to each other, or leave the board.

Railhaven

Answer 1

In reference to computers and computer programs, BETA basically means "experimental", "in development" or "prototype".

Why do I always follow the idiot who does not know the answer, but copies and pastes a whole encyclopedia from a Google search?

.

Answer 2

beta means that the software or service is currently in a testing phase. They want users to try it out and see how buggy it is. If it is something that you rely heavily on that I would not recommend it. For instance if you are considering using Windows Vista Beta on your primary computer it is not a very good idea. You will have trouble getting drivers, the system will crash often and there will be little support. However, if you are invited to test yahoo mail beta and it is an email address that you rarely use you will get a good insight into where the industry is going.

The key is to judge how much it would effect you if you could no longer do the things you want to do with the current system you are running. You should assume that whatever beta it is, it will crash you system, not work or somehow completely not allow you to return back to how things were with the previous system.

Some people even say that when companies come out with an gold version (a version that has passed beta) that you are gambling there too. Not all bugs can be worked out within the first few months. With this in mind installing the newest version of Office the day it comes out will mean that you will most likely have problems with it until they work out all the bugs.

Answer 3

Beta software is a pre-release version. This is done before the major version is released to test for any bugs before a product moves into the consumer market. Usually it is not a good idea to get the beta version of software because it can be very unstable and even damage your system. I hope this helps and I am sorry so many folks around here were rude to you. If you need any further help or explanation feel free to email me @ [e-mail]

Answer 4

Beta: second letter of the greek alphabet.
used to indicate that a sofware is not jet finished.

Software is either:
Alpha: (first letter of Greek alfabet) - the develoment has just started.

Beta: the software becomes usable and is past out to users& testers. Many Betas are good sofware already.

RC ReleaseCandidate - Now the sofware has the features and the devs think it is good enough (these are the last test issues)

Alternatively to beta numerals below 1 can be used.

Beta and RC can be used to indicate new version of finished
product but exists also of Software that is in beta stage itself.

K-Meleom 0.9 (browser) means that the ppl want to add more features untill they want to isue 1.0. This browser was already
quite usable - so they issued betas before a 0.9.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Beta is just a test version of software offered to the public for testing. It usually is only good for a short time until the bugs are worked out of it. Beta programs are usually good and get you hooked on their usefulness so you'll eventually want the full version. From my experience, they're good programs that may have a few little quirks but generally run pretty well.

Answer 6

Beta means the software is not officially ready for release, and may have bugs.

If you want; you may download the beta version and test it; so you can report the errors to the company that is producing the software.

At the end of the test process; they may send you a free release of the public revision, a T shirt, or just a letter thanking you for your assistance.

Back in the 90s; I had non discloure agreements with 11 different companies.

Answer 7

A beta version or beta release usually represents the first version of a computer program that implements all features in the initial software requirements specification. It is likely to be unstable but useful for internal demonstrations and previews to select customers, but not yet ready for release. Some developers refer to this stage as a preview, as a technical preview (TP) or as an early access.

Often this stage begins when the developers announce a feature freeze on the product, indicating that no more features requirements will be accepted for this version of the product. Only software issues, or bugs and unimplemented features will be addressed.

Beta versions stand at an intermediate step in the full development cycle. Developers release them to a group of beta testers (sometimes the general public) for a user test. The testers report any bugs that they found and sometimes minor features they would like to see in the final version.

For example in September 2005, Microsoft started releasing regular Windows Vista Community Technology Previews (CTP) to beta testers. The first of these was build 5219. Subsequent CTPs introduced most of the planned features, as well as a number of changes to the user interface, based in large part on feedback from beta testers. Windows Vista was deemed feature complete with the release of build 5308 CTP, released on February 22, 2006, and much of the remainder of work between that build and the final release of the product will focus on stability, performance, application and driver compatibility, and documentation.

When a beta becomes available to the general public it is often widely used by the technologically savvy and those familiar with previous versions as though it were the finished product. Usually developers of freeware or open-source betas release them to the general public while proprietary betas go to a relatively small group of testers. In February 2005, ZDNet published an article about the recent phenomenon of a beta version often staying for years and being used as if it were in production-level [1]. It noted that Gmail and Google News, for example, had been in beta for a long period of time and were not expected to drop the beta status despite the fact that they were widely used; however, Google News did leave beta in January 2006. This technique may also allow a developer to delay offering full support and/or responsibility for remaining issues. Recipients of highly proprietary betas may have to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

A release is called feature complete when the development team agrees that no new features will be added to this release. New features may still be suggested for later releases. More development work needs to be done to implement all the features and repair defects.

As the second major stage in the development cycle, following the alpha stage, it is named after the Greek letter beta, the second letter in the Greek alphabet.

The term beta test applied to software follows from an early IBM hardware development convention dating back to punched card tabulating and sorting machines. Hardware first went through an alpha test for preliminary functionality and manufacturing feasibility. Then a beta test to verify that it actually correctly performed the functions it was supposed to, and then a c test to verify safety. With the advent of programmable computers and the first sharable software programs, IBM used the same terminology for testing software. Beta tests were conducted by people or groups other than the developers. As other companies began developing software for their own use, and for distribution to others, the terminology stuck and now is part of our common vocabulary.

Hope this helps.

Answer 8

If your talking about beta yahoo mail, beta just means that it is a new product that the company is testing, in a beta process the company asks consumers to try the product out and give feedback on what needs to be changed or what should stay the same. This is the case for the beta yahoo! mail. Happy Holidays!

Answer 9

Beta, the second letter of the Greek Alphabet, is used to describe the first version of a software that is released. It is often full of bugs and problems (especially if it is Microsoft software).

If you want the latest software then you can pick it up in the Beta version, if you want very stable and proven software then you need to look somewhere else.

Answer 10

Beta software is a pre-release version for people willing to test it out for bugs.

Unless you know what you are doing, I never recommend anyone taking a beta, especially if they use the software for important work.

Bugs and serious mishaps can and do happen from time to time with beta softare.

So no you don't want it unless you know what you are doing.