Frequency of Builds

as a beta tester i'm used to getting more builds to test than are currently being done here with FF. i'd suggest putting out more builds. i know a lot of things have been discussed and i'm quite sure you guys are fixing all sorts of things and adding new things and so on, but the problem with the current system here is that if there are a hundred new things to test in the next release as opposed to 10 new things, there's more of a chance for bugs showing between each release. if more releases were done we might be able to catch some things that would otherwise be lurking for a long time.

i'm used to about one new release every week or two. bugs always get fixed first and new features are addressed secondarily. it's a lot easier to compare fewer fixes/new items and so on if there are fewer to do so but that come more frequently. it's also less devastating if there is one really critical bug that might mess up a lot of things. by waiting a long while between releases this really critical one can affect a TON of work as opposed to just some work.

also, this can play into when you actually do your public release of FF. it's not uncommon for software houses to get the major bugs fixed and then add things or even fix other things after the first public release. it's not necessary to have every feature imaginable in the first release. now, nobody likes buying buggy software that takes 6 upgrades by the consumer to get to a point where it's actually decent software, so i'm not recommending that in any way. but, there is a point where, if all the major bugs are fixed and you've got good features and you've taken into consideration the public needs and wants, it's ok to release the first public build.

FF had a number of critical crash type bugs to begin with. feedback was given and we're really not seeing many of those now or, we're seeing the same ones posted about. so, those bugs get fixed, a new release is done and we see if we can find other major bugs. this could have all happened, probably within the first month of going public beta. a new release would have been done and those fixes tested and by then a lot of new feature ideas would have shown up and some of those could have been incorporated with a new release and tested to make sure no new bugs showed up and that the consumer liked the new features. you then just rinse and repeat until some point where you go, 'this is good!' and oddly, this point is usually pretty obvious. i've seen it happen; things are getting better and better and all of a sudden almost every tester at once will post 'ok, this is good enough for release'. there seems to be a public acceptance level that seems to be almost a hidden sort of standard. few could tell you exactly what that is, but when they see it, they know it and they'll tell you about it.

so, basically, this is a whine for "I WANT THE NEXT RELEASE!!", "I WANT THE NEW TOYS!!"

annoying, arent i, vlad

craig

onyx, thank you. we sitting on the outside never truly understand all that has to go on on the inside. but if i just had ...

craig

And, as a sidenote, it was caught on my development machine, not on the bought one

Nice I just downloaded it but not yet had a chance to play wih it. Thats later tonite when I get a moment. Congrats on the progress so far.