Subject: Re: BETA TESTER
From: "Chris Purdie" <[email-masked]>
To: Multiple recipients of list <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 23:18:33 -0500

> >How do you become a BETA TESTER?
> 
> If you find out PLEASE let me know.

Well.. I am not sure how to exactly become a Beta-Tester, but if you suck 
up a lot it might help! <g>

Myself, I am not a Beta-Tester, however I get a lot of software that has 
not been released yet (Gamma etc). I get most of this from Draco Systems 
Inc (formerlly NoahJi's), and it is the MovieShop editing software for the 
V-Lab Motion System. 

When I first got the V-Lab, it came with v2.1 software.. this worked, but 
the audio got out of sync often, and especially if you played long clips. 
I had the software for a short while, and I continually talked with Eric 
Kloor of then Noahji's, and offered suggestions for improvments to the 
software. It came time to do a weekly sports show on the V-Lab, but 
obviously I could not do it with the audio problems. A quick call down to 
Eric and he said he he would ship me out v2.5Gamma, which would be 
released to the public soon. Sure enough, v2.5G solved all my audio 
problems, and I have produced 21 weekly episodes of my sports show onthe 
V-Lab. About a month later, v2.6 (2.5G) was released to the public.

Again, just the other day, I was speaking with him, and learned that v3.0 
of the software was ready, and they are just waiting on the manuals for 
release. Manuals, we don't need no stinkin' manuals.. and I now have v3.0 
of the software. Aside from the disk having a read error, I "would" have 
it. But again, a number of the suggestions that I made (and probably 
others as well), have been implemented into the new software (A colour bar 
generator operator is coming soon, the timeline now scrolls past the end 
of the video segments etc). 

I guess the moral of the story is, although you are not a "BETA" tester, 
offering suggestions on existing products can go a long way. Not only for 
future upgrades, but someday you may find yourself being offered to test 
the software. A developer generally will not just hand over the software 
to "anybody". They will send it so someone they know will test the 
software to its fullest, and more importantly, provide accurate feedback 
on its performance.

Again though, sucking up can't hurt! B^)