BETA version: a website or software project released to users for testing before its official release. Source: Wikipedia
In the world of technology development, brainiacs are always pushing the envelope and trying new things. The only way to know how these new ideas will work ‘in the real world,’ however is to test it, well, in the real world. Going in to this process, developers anticipate bugs, glitches and errors, which is the whole reason they go through the process.
Whenever developers place a new technology or website ‘out there’ for testing, it will be labeled BETA. BETA versions of software applications tend to be free of charge but users must anticipate glitches in the program and should be willing to report their experiences back to the developers for product improvement. These BETA packages will most often have expiration dates, meaning that the software will cease operating altogether on a predetermined date in time. At that point, the developers anticipate the final retail version will be ready to release and to continue using the program, the user must purchase the retail version.
If you are an experienced computer user, testing out BETA software applications can be quite fun and rewarding. However, if you are a novice computer user, I would recommend avoiding such releases as they are likely to cause more frustration than reward. Users should always anticipate the possibility of data loss when using a BETA product and should never rely on a BETA product for deadline or client work. Remember, the objective of BETA releases is to find and report the bugs in a new product. Don’t set yourself up for a catastrophic failure in an effort to save a few coins.
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“Tech Tuesday” is published every Tuesday. To reach Tracy with comments or questions, email her here.
