Kudos to the beta squad
The unsung heroes of our (computing) generation are the beta testers. The people who are willing to wade in the swamp. Leeches and gators, out of my way. I’m here to look for real bugs.
I’m not one of them. My reaction to new(er) software is akin to the way I perform on the beach in the summertime. You’ve probably seen me; hot and sunny, little wind, dressed for action. I’m there, down at the surf line, one ankle damp, ready to assure all and sundry about my swimming exploits.
Last week, I took the next version of Firefox for a “ride”. In and out in minutes. I’m a regular with the interface, so my attention turned to which of my add-ins hadn’t prepared for the wave. No Image Zoom, no Facebook gadget, no skins. That was a deal breaker; in Windows 7, the menu items are hiding in the underbrush, and I’m forced to navigate by lucky mouse clicks. I’ll wait for the official release.
Tonight, the competition. IE9 Beta is available, and after waiting for some other updates to install (and kill Outlook, but that’s a regular event), I clicked the big blue E and waited to see what all the noise is going to be about.
It took time to start. The usual questions, like would I want this to be my default browser (not on a first date, thank you). Still, I have to give the development team credit. Flash/Shockwave were ready. Ditto for Silverlight (which might be one to watch). The ActiveX gadget we use at work was an easy add-in, once I clued that the question bar is at the bottom of the window.
An interesting couple of months ahead in the browser skirmishes.
