Software has various testing phases before "official" release

The first cut of the finished product is called an "alpha", which generally undergoes in-house and developer testing to find bugs, see what works, etc.

After solving those, they then create a "beta" release. Testing is usually (But not always) in-house and by developers again.

To test the software over a range of hardware, drivers, etc. etc. some companies will put out a "public beta" such as the new Windows Messenger and take feedback from the punters on what works, what does, what they do and don't like, etc.

Very close to the Public Beta is Release Candidate 1, where the developers take the feedback from the Beta stage and finalize the product to release standards. At this point, they are mostly looking for incomatibilities rather than bugs (Or they should be, at any rate!). If the response is positive, the product "Goes Gold" and gets sent out for printing on CDs etc. or otherwised released for purchase. If they find problems, they will either solve them before final release or product RC2.

As an example, the new Windows OS (Vista) has been available to developers for a while at beta stage and has gone through quite a number of "builds" (Versions tweaked with bugfixes).

It has now been made available to the general public as a Public Beta. In about 6 months time, RC1 will also be made available, and in approx Jun 07 the new OS will be finalized and sent to the shops.

Posted By: Iwan Husarmi, Jun 11, 12:34:34