This has become de facto on the Web! Every new startup's site is in beta, probably having taken the lead from Google's Gmail service. In actual fact, beta software is one of the stages of testing a software where the software (or site) is released to a limited number of developers for live testing and reporting on bugs, crashes, errors, and other such problems. Software creation being a com¬plex process, it is inevitable that the testers will not catch all the bugs.

Thus, Web sites and software companies make the beta soft¬ware available to the public to aid them in their testing process. Due to the large number of users testing the software simultane¬ously, more and more bugs will be quickly discovered. This phenomenon led to the coining ofthe phrase: "Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow," as stated by Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux operating system.

Name: Beta Software.jpg Views: 74 Size: 55.8 KB