Thank you Neil for your post. I myself fully understand the beta and the issues that come with using one. My main interest is to help you and the others there at Stardock with such a program testing a beta. By trying to collect data and try work arounds to the problem till the beta can be sorted.
Others need to be more respectful of you people and see this also. When using beta software always keep a good backup so you can roll back to it. That is if you are unable to work out the problem and the testinghas had a bad result.
But beta means just that " A Testing Software " not a finished product and it for sure has bugs or issues with it. The reason for beta software is so many people like ourselves can test the software and find these bugs/issues for the developers.
Let me repeat myself a bit here more plainly...
If you are going to be beta testing any new software ( pre-released ) ... be sure to have backups. Such as archives of the program you are testing, system image backups of the OS you are beta testing the program with or that is on. Keep a good list of any and all updates you install to your system or any other program you are using. Other things are - understand what you are doing by beta testing a new software. If you do not know much about computers do not test a beta software. If you know a little and are willing to learn... then do so at your own risk.
No One Forces you to use beta software. It is a USE AT YOUR OWN RISK testing purpose only.
But to help the dev's at Stardock a lot better it is always good to have a better working knowledge of what is going on completely with your system and how you are using it to test any beta software.
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Hey it is great if it works for you. But this thing about how it mess's with your system and so forth needs to be explained in a different way. Such is this thread... now do not get me wrong. I see this thread as addressing things for an issue found in the beta software. But in a sense we are being a bit too much open with these reports here in the forum. I would like to see things a bit different and have those people online where I can communicate with them better and get more information about what all is happening. Oh it is good to see as with Garbage man and such he stopped from uninstalling his system and so forth by reading this thread. But that is a problem... what if he missed it? We kind of need a system in place where people beta testing a product understand better what to do in such a situation and so forth. That and what is reguired for a person to be properly beta testing a product. Right it is use at your own risk... but others are using it too. We all need better communications with each other to figure things in a much better way. Sort of like people who would have a list of who is beta testing and if issues or problems/bugs are found. Then eveyone gets an email or a report is issued at a website that you could check before you did the wrong thing to try and correct the problems.
We have a long way to go people! Vista was a small step in a said direction for everyone. Now here we go with Win7... next is Windows 8. We need to get a group together that is a ready set of people that are willing to beta test products with all the proper stuff needed to do a good and complete job. That and a place where these testings can be open to those involved with it. Meaning more communications, better understanding of what the testing is for, where it will go and such. Plus where we can report openly to each other and the devs what it is we are having problems with and why - I repeat communication.
Lets figure the guy that wants all this for his new win7 system and he buys it and then installs it to find things are not working and has no way to see what is wrong. Thus he never been on this forum and has no idea of what he is doing as such the case could be.
I would love to see a special place in impulse for such. Thus giving them invitations to irc channel and instructions for what to do if problems occur witha beta product.
Yes I know this would take some doing. New word for this is " Volunteer's " People willing to be in place to gather info and help with other people with a problem to assist them so they do not do something wrong or also so data can be collected to send to a developer to see if it is the beta program or something else all together. All this and more in a place where it works together with the deveolpers at Stardock and those of this community or any one using a beta product.
My reason for bring this up is that SUPPORT is over whelmed with tons of problems which are not their problems at all. Least should not be and would not be if we all work more together with each other and find a group of people to help manage this with Stardock completely under control of all the beta testing they purpose to do.
We have some of this in placve already. But it needs more...
I'm presently part of many volunteer beta testing groups as it is for many companies. The even greater thing with this is to get each of these companies together to form what they need also to test those beta products together so it all works together.
Here today we have a problem with a microsoft product and a stardock product. Tomorrow it maybe even more complex to involve several products from several companies.
By helping other people with these problems we get a first hand look at the future. Being that - it comes down to just on thing...
IT IS WHAT WE MAKE IT TO BE! What we want and what we think it should be is a whole other story. But what we make it is the BIG picture. Working better together and finding solutions to problems is always better than throwing in the towel. We win together. Thus also we have the best software on the market today. Meaning we help make what is to be the best software on the market today by winning!
Microsoft is doing this... Mozzilla is doing this... and many other great companies are doing this. We need to be in there and figure a volunteer group of people who will do this.
I'll put whatever time I got in on this and if you are a beta tester and have any knowledge of what is going on with these things or can learn to do the right thing. Plus have the proper equipment to do such testing it would be good you get involved in a right manner and lets get in there and help these people.
Question ? How many people are installing pre-released software?
That is my reason! You are a memeber of WC/STARDOCK and have pre-released software you paid for on your computer. I want to help you and those that are deveolping that said pre-released software so there are less problems and better results for the people that work hard to develope that software. Mostly for you the member who does not completely understand what he is doing when he installs a pre-release software.
This is the attitude we need with this group to accomplish what is needed to fully test a beta product. I call it a working attitude and flexible to what is needed to be aware of what is what and so forth.
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Ok hope I've not stepped on any toes today and hope this helps things go the right direction.
This is just an idea of what I'd like to do for this community and those people out there beta testing.
As it is if you have a problem with things and are not sure what to do. Then come by irc stardock via your Impulse chat in the community tab. Myself or many other people there will be glad to try and help you with things gone wrong.
That or if you are an irc user then we are at irc.stardock.com, channel is, /join #stardock or just #stardock
We would love to just talk to you and see what your problem is. That or just shoot the breeze... we do a lot of that.
Again THANK YOU ! Neil for the post and for working hard on weekends.
