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Sell Me a Bridge, Too (2/24/98)
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Oh me oh my, but you just gotta give the guys credit... Microsoft is actually selling beta software to their customers, as pointed out by Mac OS Rumors. That's right, if you're a Windows 95 user with a 486Dx/66 or faster processor, 16Mb of RAM, 125MB of free hard disk space (!), and a CD-ROM drive, you can be a beta-tester for Windows 98-- and it'll only cost you $29.95! Gain stature as a semi-employee of the world's most successful software company! Impress the girls! Just head over to the Windows 98 Preview "Consumer Beta Program" for details.
You know, we thought it was clever when software companies got their beta testing done for free by letting the public use unreleased, buggy software and report problems with it. When you think about it, it's only the next logical step in the progression that people could be suckered into actually paying the company for the privilege of doing their work for them. Of course, it takes a company with real chutzpah to pull it off. We honestly have to admire Microsoft for this move. Sheer brilliance. What's next? Microsoft Excrete 99®, which lets you securely pay Bill Gates by credit card over the internet every time you use your own bathroom? We can see the drooling masses lining up now. Some are even ready to pay to beta-test it.
Of course, given the ridiculously bug-ridden and slow (nay, glacial) performance of the last Mac version of Office, we suppose that this practice of selling beta software to customers isn't all that new. The only new part is admitting that it's betaware...
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SceneLink (482)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 2/24/98 episode: February 24, 1998: A sharp-eyed viewer finds hidden details in the mysterious image that briefly haunted O'Grady's PowerPage. Meanwhile, despite the legal pressures emanating from Cupertino, details of the upcoming price drops are made public, and Bill Gates shows why he's the richest man in the business, as he reveals that people pay him to do his work...
Other scenes from that episode: 480: The O'Grady Files (2/24/98) After yesterday's confused rant about the mysterious black and white Powerbook-and-question-mark graphic that appeared briefly on O'Grady's PowerPage only to vanish inexplicably a few hours later, several AtAT viewers wrote to confirm that we weren't simply imagining things... 481: Beware Falling Prices (2/24/98) Speaking of brushes with Apple's lawyers, you may recall that a couple of weeks ago MacInTouch's Ric Ford received a "gentle warning" after he posted sensitive details of Apple's upcoming price cuts. Ric grudgingly removed the details of the lowered prices from his site...
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