google -- the beta company

i've been thinking recently about beta software.  i've recently been trying to learn why some companies, already heavily invested in .net technologies wouldn't rapidly adopt .net beta 2.  i mean, it isn't drastically different (as was the perception of the .net framework from previous windna platform technologies)...it's still .net -- just a better .net.

in my conversations with individuals and companies alike, mostly the response has been “it's still beta [dude]” (dude added in for the individual response.  okay, yeah, you're right it is.  but what if i told you that ms offers a go-live license (as they have done in the past) so that you can comfortably go-live with the software in a production environment?  would that make you change your mind?  i mean, that's a pretty huge confidence mark to say “go ahead and use our beta in production” don't you think?

think for a minute driving directions.  if you have NEVER BEEN TO A LOCATION before, you're likely going to get some driving directions -- and people usually get them from an online source.  google maps has won out recently as one of the “coolest” map/direction provider.  and i'm sure a ton zilliton of people use it daily for maps/directions.  the next time you do...take a look in the upper left corner...see that -- bingo...that magic word...”beta” right there in front of you.

if you look further at google's site, they indicate that it is still in beta -- and their definition “translation: more improvements to come” is a pretty solid statement about their confidence...akin to saying “go ahead and use our stuff in production.”

so, you'll rely on beta software to get you from point a to point b, provided you've never been to point b, but you wouldn't even CONSIDER using it for your efforts in software development?  to me that's quite ironic (note: i didn't say stupid or dumb or hypocrytical...just ironic).

but tim, google beta works. touche.  ms has a history of beta software being what beta used to really mean (translation: hey man, this stuff is beta, install and cross your fingers).  the builds are slow, functions missing, functions not working, etc.  i mean *real* beta.  but we're getting better.  thus the slip in beta2 for .net -- a release strategy (even for beta) built on quality, not a schedule.  ms is redifining (i'm interpreting here of course, nothing official) their beta software definition...to adapt to a better expectation of what is released into the wild.

so, come on...give a look, find a project to skunkworks, or do a little pet project on building a beta2 environment and running your current apps on it...give our “directions” a chance and use them...you've relied on .net up till now, why not look and see what is better about it?