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Is Beta Software Free???
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FishNrib
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Apr 11, 2006, 10:37 AM
 
Is commercial beta software free to download and use for an unlimited time? I assume they want feedback to fix bugs encountered. I am looking at Badia ContactPage XT 2.0b0 (beta) which sells for $70.
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rickey939
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Apr 11, 2006, 10:40 AM
 
It depends. Most of the time, the betas are set to expire at a pre-determined date. As for the price, well that varies by developers as well. For the most part, betas are indeed free, but others will charge.
     
TETENAL
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Apr 11, 2006, 10:43 AM
 
Beta software is software in its last testing phase.

That doesn't mean it's free or it's not free. And it doesn't say anything about whether it can be used a limited time or an unlimited time.

Software that sells for $70 is not "free" by my definition of the word.
     
saddino
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Apr 11, 2006, 10:43 AM
 
Yes, commercial beta software is almost always free. But no, you can't use it forever - it is equally almost always time-limited.

The deal being: you get to try out the software for free for a bit, and in exchange you can help the company with debugging if you wish.
     
Person Man
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Apr 11, 2006, 10:57 AM
 
Originally Posted by saddino
The deal being: you get to try out the software for free for a bit, and in exchange you can help the company with debugging if you wish.
Sometimes they may even give you a full license to the software for free (or a price break) if you contribute substantially to the debugging effort. (Not always, though).
     
Millennium
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Apr 11, 2006, 11:02 AM
 
Not by definition, it isn't. Although some companies do make their beta software free to download and use -a practice sometimes called public beta or open beta- other companies do not. If a company has not specifically declared a beta to be public, then it is as illegal to download and use without payment and/or permission as any other software.
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Angus_D
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Apr 11, 2006, 02:40 PM
 
Originally Posted by Millennium
Not by definition, it isn't. Although some companies do make their beta software free to download and use -a practice sometimes called public beta or open beta- other companies do not. If a company has not specifically declared a beta to be public, then it is as illegal to download and use without payment and/or permission as any other software.
Frequently betas are covered by non-disclosure agreements, too.

Anyway, I went to the Badia site and it's free to download the beta...
     
Morpheus
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Apr 11, 2006, 02:54 PM
 
Originally Posted by Millennium
Although some companies do make their beta software free to download and use -a practice sometimes called public beta or open beta
OS X Public Beta comes to mind...
     
Angus_D
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Apr 11, 2006, 05:26 PM
 
OS X Public Beta wasn't a free download, it was a $30 purchase on CD... Although that entitled you to a $30 discount on the final release.
     
Morpheus
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Apr 11, 2006, 05:30 PM
 
...and why did I put that smiley there...???
     
   
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