Why did MS release the Alpha Tech Prv to the public?

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DaveGx

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MS really didn't need tens of thousands of people to "test" an Alpha build. They dont release Alpha desktop builds to the public so why did they do this with their Phone OS? They could have easily, and perhaps more smartly, released this to a small number (500-1000) of people to test for bugs. Especially if it is not going to be updated often. There really is a limited amount of things you can do with your smart phone. Chances are, most bugs have been reported now in a couple days, probably just about everything that could be found screwy has been reported through the feedback app. So if MS waits another month or so for an update, was there really a point to releasing an Alpha build to the general public?

As happy as I am to have been able to try this, I think MS made a mistake here. As I said, they do not do this for desktop OS's as far as I know. Yes they do beta previews on occasion. And I understand people we warned but MS had to of known, many many people who really had no business installing this did so, are now ticked off because their phone is bricked, OS is unstable, etc. Mainly because people have been dying for WP10 for a year now. MS perhaps, should've just kept it internal and to limited people until a Dev Preview, which seems to be months and months away.

Im just curious if they had another reason to do this. Perhaps, knowing they're behind schedule and not as quick as the desktop division, they just wanted to give people a taste. I dont know, but it does seem like a curious decision to me now that its actually happened. Ive got two phones now, so Ill keep it on one, but honestly wont use it much more. Reported bugs Ive found and most other bugs I found are already reported. There is nothing new in this OS that is actually that great or working smoothly that would have me playing around with it or using it for that much longer. Another reason, they should've just kept it to a limited group, imo.
 

hotphil

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I'm not sure what more MS could have done for the folks who bricked their devices - there were multiple messages that it's unreleased, incomplete and may break hardware etc that people had to click to accept.

There does seem to have been a lot of people who ignored that. I suggest a USD50 enrollment fee may have been useful in elevating the quality of feedback they'll get.
 

Muessig

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Honestly this is quite ignorant for want of a better word..., MS have been allowing a load of people to alpha test their W10 OS on the desktop for the past few months (I believe its up in the millions now that are registered insiders.)



This doesn't show an insecure product or odd behaviour because they are out of ideas etc., on Microsoft's part, but rather they want your opinion on how to make their operating systems better and better 'fit your needs'. We have seen what happens when Microsoft goes away behind locked doors and does what they want... It's called windows 8, and not a lot of people embraced it. They are trying to be as transparent as possible this time, which I don't think you could call a weakness. This is the same thing they are doing with their phone os.
 

DaveGx

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Honestly this is quite ignorant for want of a better word..., MS have been allowing a load of people to alpha test their W10 OS on the desktop for the past few months (I believe its up in the millions now that are registered insiders.)

This doesn't show an insecure product on Microsoft's part, but rather they want your opinion on how to make their operating systems better and better 'fit your needs'. We have seen what happens when Microsoft goes away behind locked doors and does what they want... It's called windows 8, and not a lot of people embraced it. They are trying to be as transparent as possible this time, which I don't think you could call a weakness. This is the same thing they are doing with their phone os.

Windows 10 has been in Beta or BETTER for a while now. I dont recall an Alpha build being released that only half worked.

MS still may do whatever it wants. There's no guarantee that they will change directions. I think a more stable beta to the general public is an okay idea, but Alpha build is questionable. I think in terms of bugs, most or all have been reported in a matter of a day or two. And UI changes, can be done further down the line, id expect bugs to be the biggest thing they need to deal with along with a couple new features being tested, even though things like Project Spartan are barely usable at this point, so there isnt much to test.
 

DaveGx

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Maybe more tester is better than just a few. One can see a problem while another one won't

Maybe. Another negative of it though is you get a lot of users who really don't know any better or don't really know what they're talking about and submit useless feedback. Id think fewer, more experienced users could have been a better option.

But as I said, Im keeping it on one phone. But at this point, in just two days, Ive tested all I could. Its not stable enough and the new features arent working well enough or just non-existant at this point to even bother picking up my test phone device much anymore until an update comes out. There's really just so much you can test or try on here and the instability and inconsistently will keep most from using it for much longer.
 

Wurstsalat

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i think at this stage MS isnt so much interested in bugreporting but in Feature or ui improvements...how should something work? Not working in the dark and release a near ready release to the public to see if it is ok what they did...

yes they know there will are some negative Responses but they think it is worth it
 

ReconTM

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MS didn't shove the preview to anyone's throats. The user has no right to complain when an anomaly has occurred on his part as the release is still a "Technical Preview" not a "Consumer Preview" release.

I am a tester myself to both desktop and phone platform, and I really have no reason to whine and moan if I were to encounter a problem because I opted into it, by my own volition.

If everyone read the precaution or warning texts once in a while and not just click the 'ok', 'next, button and the likes then none of this chaos would ever happen. In other words, the user is the one who is at fault here.

windows. microsoft. com/en-us/windows/preview-faq-right-for-me-phone
windows. microsoft. com/en-us/windows/preview-faq-right-for-me-pc
 

DaveGx

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Some things are even hard to test to even report bugs. Photos app, worked in the.beginning, won't even open now, for example.

And yes, people were warned, and it wasn't shoved down anyone's throats. But MS Will now.have feedback clogged with complaints rather than just bug or improvement feedback. More nonsense to weed through
 

Muessig

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Beta testing is fine once you have your feature set complete, ms seem to wash my as much info from their customers to see what features are wanted to set them apart from other os's or indeed catch up to them. At this point it's just data mining and they employ people to go through the white noise. It's nothing to be concerned about our complain about.
 

tboy2000

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It's not meant for the public. It's meant for developers to test. Its just easy for the public to sign up for a developer account. That's not Microsoft's fault.
 

hotphil

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Maybe. Another negative of it though is you get a lot of users who really don't know any better or don't really know what they're talking about and submit useless feedback. Id think fewer, more experienced users could have been a better option.
So much this.
 

Alain_A

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Some things are even hard to test to even report bugs. Photos app, worked in the.beginning, won't even open now, for example.

And yes, people were warned, and it wasn't shoved down anyone's throats. But MS Will now.have feedback clogged with complaints rather than just bug or improvement feedback. More nonsense to weed through

might not be working for you but work for another, for example..to me is skype that play on and off..

I agree with what Muessig said
 

hotphil

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It's not meant for the public. It's meant for developers to test. Its just easy for the public to sign up for a developer account. That's not Microsoft's fault.
it is for public and not developers. There's a whole page on "is this for you?". Basically it says if you know what you're doing, that's cool.
And it kind of is Microsoft's fault - by not limiting it somehow e.g. Fee, MSDN (or whatever it's called this year) subscribers, lottery or some other mechanism
 

mjperry51

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It's not meant for the public. It's meant for developers to test. Its just easy for the public to sign up for a developer account. That's not Microsoft's fault.
It's not Microsoft's FAULT -- it IS their responsibility.

They set the terms for a developer account. It is Microsoft who says "Check this box" and you get access. I'm not a developer; I have not downloaded or purchased a single MS development program. I do have access to their online developer foundation, but I've never use it.

I'm not complaining one bit. I have Windows 10 TP set installed on a separate drive, and dual boot. I can eliminate it in minutes without affecting my primary system at all. I haven't installed the Phone TP because I have one device, and it's my daily driver. I figure I can watch things here, and when the issue count drops I can try it, wait for a Preview version, or just wait for the rollout.

You can't fix stupid. and MS is taking a chance doing this because of the willful ignorance of millions of users. They're damned if they do, and damned if they don't. All I can do is what's best for me. . . .
 

mjperry51

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it is for public and not developers. There's a whole page on "is this for you?". Basically it says if you know what you're doing, that's cool.
And it kind of is Microsoft's fault - by not limiting it somehow e.g. Fee, MSDN (or whatever it's called this year) subscribers, lottery or some other mechanism
Wow -- can you imagine the outcry if they used a lottery?

"I thought I WON something!!!!"

:wink:
 
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