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IS APPLE'S OS X PUBLIC BETA RELEASE A GOOD IDEA?

For as long as I can remember, you can sum up Apple Computer's policy with two words when it comes to talking about products it hasn't yet released; "No comment." And although Apple's policy is far from unique, the company has held true to its conviction regarding the matter. Getting Apple to comment on any unfinished product just wasn't possible, until OS X came on the horizon.

Perhaps the revelation was partly due to the fact that OS X was on the horizon and continued to stay there, missing its release deadline over and over again. But whatever the reasons, Apple moved into uncharted territory when it decided to not only talk about a product that hadn't been released but to actually SELL a product that hadn't officially been released. The Mac OS X Public Beta has arrived and it has been selling at a brisk pace to the OS 9 challenged. Not that OS 9 is a challenged operating system but if OS X measures up to its full potential, its predecessor doesn't stand a chance.

I'm not going to go on about all of the new features being promised by OS X in this column. Rather I want to take a closer look into the merits of releasing a product, especially one as complex as a computer operating system, into the hands of consumers before it's finished. Most pundits will agree that an operating system is a never ending work in progress. There will always be bugs to be found and fixed, and features to be added and removed as time moves on. As an OS evolves, its publisher makes a decision as to when it thinks it is stable enough, and when the number of added and improved features warrant its release as a new version or next generation.

But Apple found itself with an OS that it felt wasn't ready for release in the one hand and several missed release dates in the other. So instead of holding back and missing more deadlines, it came up with another option. Apple decided to release what it had, a somewhat stable OS with many of its components either incomplete or totally missing, and call it a public beta.

I think it's a smart move because it kills so many birds with one little stone. Calling it a public beta takes Apple off the hook as far as owning up to its instability. A "beta" version by definition means the software is not complete and that it should be used with caution. Beta products are also usually supplied without cost and used only by a small select group of people who have been designated by the developer for testing purposes. Their job is to report back any discovered problems to the developer. Calling this OS X product a "public beta" means that EVERYONE is beta testing for Apple and they're all ponying up $29.95 for the privilege. It's a smooth move. Apple is immune from complaints that its product doesn't work because they've openly admitted it's not a finished product, they're getting lots of valuable feedback from everyone using it and they're making money selling it. What a deal!

In Apple's defense however, I do think that its releasing OS X is a good thing in that it gives Macintosh users everywhere a glimpse of what's to come when using a truly modern operating system. Features such as protected memory, preemptive multitasking, The Dock, Aqua and a new Finder herald the new way you'll be using your Mac. The Public Beta release lets you preview all of this responsibly in that users won't have to burn any bridges to experience it. Beta users can continue to use their OS 9 applications and even remove the beta version completely if they decide it's not ready for prime time. So if you want it, here it is, come and get it.

Apple Computer
www.apple.com