The meaning of "Beta"

[Kernel Sanders]

I just wanted to get everyone's thoughts on this if I could.

Years ago, "beta", AFAIK, meant that your product/software was feature complete, but needed more work to iron out bugs, and make it more stable before it was generally released to the waiting public.

Nowadays, we see "beta's" everywhere? Does it really have the same meaning as it used too? Are the public really using products/software that isnt ready for use?

IMHO, it appears to one one of two things.. companies are using the term "beta" more freely these days to stave off criticism, OR "beta" has been reclassified, and is now closer to the finished article than it used to be?

Examples?

Gmail is still in "beta"
Internet Explorer 7 is in its 3rd "beta", 2/3 have been released to the public
Google Earth Version 4 is still in "beta"

The list goes on, but you get my drift.

What do you guys think about this?

Cheers!

John :)

[zachtib]

IMO, beta can have different meanings:

WRT Google/OSS: Not yet done, probably won't crash, but if it does, there's a great support team willing to help resolve the problem so that it doesn't become an issue for other users.

WRT Microsoft: Guaranteed to not only not work, but slight chance of taking your computer down with it, when this does occur, you're basically screwed.

;)

[Sam]

This is a development step. Usually these are:
alpha: first outline, in very early development stage
beta: product usable, beta tester can reports bugs
release candidate (RC): product almost done, wider distribution to ensure it works everywhere
release: the final product
Of course this is subjective and not standardized. Some companies/developers use some of these ones, others do in an another manner (like codenames).