I don't want to ruin the surprise, but anyone who's read about the basic features of Public Beta elsewhere on the Web ought to know the answer to that question already. Readers of this series are no doubt wondering if the issues raised in previous articles have been addressed in Beta. Public Beta has been anxiously awaited by many Mac fans, even those that had access to the developer releases. Six of one, half a dozen of the other, I guess. In reality, you can find disk images of the beta online with a little effort, and since there's no purchase verification, your feedback has the same weight as the paying users' does. Currently, Apple's form for Mac OS X Beta feedback is open to anyone, since (presumably) anyone that has a copy of Beta is a paying customer.

This would require some sort of proof-of-purchase verification during the feedback process. Ideally, Apple would make the beta available for free download, possibly with the caveat that downloading does not entitle the user to the same feedback privileges afforded to paying customers. (Save your complaining for the price tag on the final Mac OS X release.) Advertisement If you don't want to pay for buggy software, don't buy the beta. I paid for my copy, and it doesn't bother me too much. Charging for public beta software is increasingly common among the big software companies. Taken all together, 'Mac OS X Public Beta' (referred to as 'Public Beta' or just 'Beta' in this article) means that for $29.95 you get an unfinished, buggy version of Apple's next generation operating system. Previous releases of Mac OS X have been available only to registered Apple developers.įinally, the 'Beta' means.well, what does it mean? Some people contend that 'beta' means 'feature-complete, but still buggy.' Others consider it simply 'more stable than alpha.' The only real common ground these days is that 'beta' means 'unfinished.' Whether that means merely that bugs still exist or that entire features remain unimplemented has to be determined on a case-by-case basis. Next, the word 'Public' signifies that the product is for sale to anyone with $29.95. The five previous articles in this series should give you a good picture of the Mac OS X development process so far: Let's disassemble the product name 'Mac OS X Public Beta.' First, Mac OS X (yes, still pronounced 'ten,' not 'ex') is the name of Apple's upcoming next generation operating system. If you're looking for some analysis and historical context, check out ' Here's to the crazy ones: a decade of Mac OS X reviews,' published in January of this year. To mark the occasion, we're running John Siracusa's review of the public beta that originally ran on October 15, 2000. Septemmarks the tenth anniversary of the Mac OS X Public Beta.

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