Software Vault: The Gold Collection/Software Vault - The Gold Collection (American Databankers) (1993).ISO/cdr11/onr4_93.zip/3

Text File | 1993-06-01 | 4KB | 70 lines

               ┌────────────────────┐
               │  Life on the Edge! │
               │  By: Steve Kunz    │
               └────────────────────┘

     Is your life boring?  Do you yearn for more excitement?  Are you looking
for a way to jump start your tired old ticker?  Well, I may have found a way to
do just that.  All it requires is that you contact the author of a program you
use on a regular basis and ask them if you could be one of the folks who helps
in finding bugs in future releases of their program.  Just one of the little
band of masochists who use the program on a daily basis to help improve it.
One of the few, the proud, the Beta testers!

     Now, what are the chances of one of these authors allowing you to beta
test their program?  Well that depends on who you contact.  Your best bet is
to contact a share ware author whose program you have already registered.  This
gives them a little incentive to let you beta test (since you have already
paid for and are currently using their product).  I wouldn't suggest you call
Microsoft, I doubt you would get too far with them.

     You may well ask how this will add some excitement to your life.  I know
I did at one time.  "Beta test?" I thought.  "What the heck is a beta test?"
Then a friend told me, a beta test is the second test of software.  The first
being an alpha test.  Kind of matches up with the Greek alphabet.  The first
letter being Alpha, the second being Beta, together, the basis for the word
Alphabet.  But, I'm getting off track, back to it (English lesson is over).  I
was told that an author first tests the software himself in the Alpha test
stage.  Then when he thinks the problems are solved, he releases the software
to a group of people who have the job of climbing in and out of the program,
using all it's functions in ways the author never thought of to try and get
something to foul up.  Once these folks and the author are satisfied that the
bugs have gone south, the program is ready for release.

     After knowing all that I was told about what a beta test was, I was still
having trouble seeing how this was exciting.  How was sitting around trying
all the functions of a program going to make my heart flutter.....

     Then something wonderful happened.  I got invited to join in a beta test
of a software that I used everyday!  A piece of software that I based my whole
computer around.  That magical program called a BBS.  Virtual BBS as a matter
of fact.

     How did I get invited?  Well I guess I made it sound kind of flattering
by saying that I was invited.  Actually everyone who ran VBBS was invited.
You see, the program went into a world wide beta test the beginning of this
year.  The reason for the beta test was to incorporate some exciting and broad
changes in the program and the way it handled multiple networks.

     I soon found out what made beta testing exciting.  It wasn't at all what
I pictured.  Beta testing had nothing to do with methodically going through
every command available.  It was more a practical use test.  I didn't have to
try all sorts of things that I didn't normally use, just keep on doing what I
was doing before and report any bugs.  Not too exciting till I woke up after
upgrading to a new beta version only to find out I could no longer send Email.
Or that time that I went with out updates for Fido net (2 months!) because the
program refused to talk to OPUS.  How about when VBBS un-installed one of my
WWIV type networks, with out even having the decency to let me know.

     Exciting?  Yeah, I'd say so!  You never know what may happen when you run
a beta program.  It keeps you on your toes.  It can be a hassle, but there is
always a price to pay when you are staying on the cutting edge of technology,
and living on the edge!


(Copyright 1993)
  Steve Kunz