What can you expect from a test release?

Everyone has their own definitions and terminology for test versions. "alpha", "beta", "preview", and "release candidate" are just a few of the terms that people use. When you use a test release from Blazing Things, the terms on this page are your guide to what you're getting.

Final Release

This is the good stuff. It's been put through its paces and has a good balance of quality and features.

Beta

A beta release has all of the features planned for the final release. It has been through some testing with some people, but needs a broader audience to shake out more bugs. A beta release may not have all of the documentation planned for the final release, but should have enough to get you started.

Beta releases are intended for users who like to be on the leading edge.

Alpha

An alpha release is not "done". It's not done in the quality sense: an alpha test release is guaranteed to have bugs. But, it's also not done in the feature sense: significant portions of functionality that are planned for the full release are just not there yet. Alpha releases are distributed to a relatively small set of people to shake out any initial problems and get things cleaned up for a wider release. Alpha releases are also our opportunity to get feedback from more people about how our planned features actually stack up in real usage.

Alpha releases are geared toward power users that don't get shaken when things don't work right and don't require much assistance to run software that is missing an instruction manual.

How can you tell what kind of release you have?

The version number will tell you. If there is an "a" in the version number, it is an alpha. If there is a "b" in the version number, it is a beta. Otherwise, you have a final release.