by Michael Mehlberg

Created on: January 18, 2009   Last Updated: September 30, 2010

Until a few years ago, the term "beta" was reserved internally in software development companies. Beta quality software was rarely, if ever, released to the public. However, with the increased use of the Internet driving the desire for more software products and feature enhancements *now*, software development companies such as Google and Microsoft have begun shipping beta software to appease customer demand while at the same time receiving valuable customer feedback.

In software development terms, beta software typically is released between an alpha version and final version of a given product. An alpha version (sometimes called a Technical Preview) is rarely released to the public since it is more of a company-internal milestone. However, a beta version usually contains all of the features intended for the final version (i.e., is feature complete), though is not fully tested. Beta is the second-to-final milestone in most product development processes, leading up to the shipment of generally available product.

Beta software is for us innovators out there... those of us that wish to live on the bleeding edge of technology and are willing to put up with a few kinks. As a beta software user, one can expect slow performance, random application crashes, improper behavior, etc. This is due to the lack of testing, as mentioned above. Since no software house can possibly test their application in every possible environment in which the end-user will use their application, beta testing is a valuable way to get this feedback for free. More so, since this inconsistent and mediocre quality is expected of beta software, some modern beta software is shipped with reporting capabilities which provide reports on feature usage and encountered software defects. This was most recently seen in the beta release of Windows 7 ultimate which has a "Send Feedback" link on the title bar of every application and dialog. This sophisticated feedback mechanism is not found in all applications however. At the very least, such feedback is gathered verbally by a product manager or software engineer.

In conclusion, one can expect beta quality software to increase in visibility in the future. The value software development companies receive from millions of users providing feedback and reporting defects is un-quantifiable. The excitement customers get from running software with the latest features is something many software users would not want to give up. For those who can tolerate any issues that may arise when using beta software, it is a great way to keep up with "what's new" while at the same time increasing the quality of the final release of your favorite software.

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