back to article Apple inaugurates free OS X beta program for world+dog

Notoriously secretive Apple has always kept its beta builds of OS X out of the hands of the hoi polloi by limiting their availability only to registered developers, so it is with some surprise that said polloi can now get their own hands on said builds through a new OS X Beta Seed Program. Apple's announcement of the new OS X …

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  1. nanchatte
    Coat

    Just don't tell anybody about what?

    1. Graham Perrin

      What ho!

      Where am I?

      1. stizzleswick
        Black Helicopters

        Re: What ho!

        @nanchatte: so you say you're not on the programme, too?

  2. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    Advanced IntelAIgent Team Terrain Systems for Earthed Operation in that Cyber Space Place

    .....akin and Sweet Sister Master to the Live Operational Virtual Environment.

    …. don't install the pre-release Apple software on any systems you don't directly control or that you share with others, don't blog, post screen shots, tweet or publicly post information about the pre-release Apple software, and don't discuss the pre-release Apple software with or demonstrate it to others who are not in the OS X Beta Seed Program.

    Yeah, like that's going to work… …. By Rik Myslewski, 22 Apr 2014

    If that is suggesting and implying, Rik, that such conditions will NOT work on sensitive programs and/or projects and with and for those and/or for that into Significantly Better* Politically Economical Playing of the Politically Incorrect and the Subversively Perverse and Easily Led and Corruptible Great Game, via Universal MetadDataBase Manouevres with and within and without Foreign and Alien Means and/or Virtual Memes in Reality and Presents as are Produced for Future Derivative Options to Current Directed and Media Hosted Bigger Pictures/Titanic Productions, then i4one fundamentally and radically disagree and be of an opposite positive optimistic opinion which will assure and ensure and insure all works according to proposed and shared plans whether in secret and beta mode or not.

    * And by Significantly Better Politically Economical Playing, one does certainly mean by an overwhelming game-changing degree with quantum leaps into IT fields as yet human virgin and unexplored and unexploited and thus surely and properly classed, and probably also in Twitchy Watcher TS/SCI COSMIC Circles, Classified Alien Team Terrain, if they be anywhere near up to necessary speed on current conditions and the present future opportunities.

    1. MrWibble
      WTF?

      Re: Advanced IntelAIgent Team Terrain Systems for Earthed Operation in that Cyber Space Place

      What?

      1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

        Re: Re: Advanced IntelAIgent Team Terrain Systems for Earthed Operations

        What? ..... MrWibble

        Basically, and in a language which more might be able to more easily understand, MrWibble ...... Watch this space and those Cyber Space Places, for the System is AI Changed and there be New Kids in Town and on the Block and in Charge of Novel Developments and Virtual Reality Presentations with/for Global Communications Head Quarters for/with Universal Command and Heavenly Remote Control.

        Capiche, Amigo? I Kid U Not.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Plucking disaster from the jaws of success is back again.

    Tends to mean only one thing .... that Apple are cutting corners now on their previously extensive in-house testing and hoping that a clutch of amateur users will be a valid substitute for this. The trouble with this is that 99% of the amateurs will not have a second state of the art Mac that they can use for shakedown testing and will probably have absolutely zero knowledge of how to report bugs or problems, beyond screaming for help when an application crashes or not knowing how to restart their machine.

    This reeks of Cook and Co thinking that they can save a few bucks. If this is the start of the slippery slope, hell why not go forth as you mean to and re-employ Gil "lets have a 100 different Performas" Amelio. After all we're about to end up with 5 or 6 different types of iPhone in circulation fairly soon.

    This time there will not be a Steve Jobs around to rescue Apple.

    1. Gadget Rage is BAD

      Re: Plucking disaster from the jaws of success is back again.

      5 or 6 iPhones? And? Samsung currently have 42 Droid "Phones" on their website and thats me being generous and discounting a couple of "cameras".

      Even with the suggested 2 new iPhone 6 devices I'll be surprised if its any more than 4 in production and thats making the assumption that they release two new 6 devices and keep the 5c which is all open to speculation.

    2. Steve Todd
      FAIL

      Re: Plucking disaster from the jaws of success is back again.

      This would be opposed to Microsoft, who habitually run public betas?

      It doesn't matter how many you have in your QA team, there will always be someone using things in a way you hadn't expected. If you can find and fix those bugs before releasing the final product then people will be happier. At the same time there are those who actively want to try out new software. This addresses both sides of the equation. Why you should feel the need to moan about it is beyond me.

      1. helicoil

        Re: Plucking disaster from the jaws of success is back again.

        Try using Mail in 10.9. Expected or unexpected use -it's just crap, and thats with professional QA. Letting the public test pre-release s/w will plumb new depths of apple's particularly poor (of late) QA.

        1. Steve Todd

          Re: Plucking disaster from the jaws of success is back again.

          I AM using mail in 10.9, and it's not causing me any noticeable problems. I've got multiple mailboxes, both Apple, SMTP and IMAP. What precisely is supposed to be the problem with it?

    3. davidp231

      Re: Plucking disaster from the jaws of success is back again.

      We're pretty much already there aren't we?

      iPhone 4S, 5, 5S, 5C

      And most of the Performas I believe were just rebadged versions of other models anyway. Performa 200=Classic 2, Performa 400,450,475=LC2,3,475 (with the 475 essentially being a Quadra 630 without a full '040 processor), Performa 600=IIvi. And that's just the UK models.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Anyone read the whole agreement ?

    Does it say anywhere said software can only be installed on an Apple computer ?

    1. Fink-Nottle

      Re: Anyone read the whole agreement ?

      OS X EULA's generally allow the installation of the operating system on an "Apple-branded computer".

      I've seen the argument advanced on Hackintosh forums that any computer can be considered Apple-branded, provided it displays Apple's name or distinctive logo.

      Add an Apple sticker to the side of your computer case and you should be fine*.

      * not really

  5. Dan 55 Silver badge

    Just more Apple PR control

    This is just so journalists can't blab about the next release. They can't even write about the existence of the beta programme if they signed up to it. If they didn't sign up to it, they can only write about its existence and incite more beta testers onto the programme.

    If a non-journalist tries it out and it b0rks their computer, they have to keep quiet.

    Apple wins again (legally speaking).

  6. M7S

    Would this work on our ex-XP PCs

    now that they've gone EOL?

    I'd be interested to try it if it does, and from Apple's perspective it might be a route to attracting new customers.

    1. Frankee Llonnygog

      Re: Would this work on our ex-XP PCs

      Yes, it would open up that elusive cheapskate market

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Available now

    Pre-Release: iTunes 11.1.6

    Pre-Release: OS X Update Seed 10.9.3

  8. Stephen 2

    Mavericks = Regret

    I hugely regret upgrading to Mavericks. It's laggy in so many areas. Even with a fresh install the same problems are encountered with random lag launching certain apps, dismissing alerts etc. It's lagville central.

  9. CaptainBanjax

    Silence

    The beta that cannot be named.

    Lets refer to the OSX betas as Voldemort then.

    Or maybe following TIFKAM, TOSPOT ... the operating system people objectively traverse.

  10. Mike Moyle

    I'm curious...

    Is it safe to assume that all of the people here razzing Apple for opening betas of OS X to all and sundry find it equally absurd/abhorrent when Android developers or open-source software developers post their daily/incremental builds for people who want to test them out (or just want to live on the bleeding edge)?

    Now, if you want to complain about Apple putting conditions on downloading the betas, THAT could be a fair cop (although I figure, it's their product, they can make the rules on how they release it). OTOH, if you're going to rag on Apple for the public betas then you kind of need to address the other companies who do the same thing. As my old mother used to say, "What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander."

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