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Have you ever beta tested software before? You use the software normally, and report bugs when they occur. You just don't sit there randomly testing features.



Because I pay lots of money to MS, I want the damn thing to be functional, therefore I want them to test teh hell out of it. MS is a big company, but not big enough that they could effectively find bugs at a rate that would allow Windows to be released. It's very complex.



Nice number, but meaningless, and entirely made up. The Beta is free. If you like Windows, why not be a tester? It gets you better software in the end, and it costs nothing but a little time. It's my time, don't tell me how I can best use it.



Again with the 30 bucks? It's a bogus number, give it up. Ubuntu isn't out to be a charity, you know. Their stated goal is also to be a successful company, which means making as much money as possible.

Debian or another of the community based distros are the ones that need time and money donated to them, not Ubuntu, they have the same goals as MS. They just want to sell you support.

One of the main reasons to test Windows is because it's sometimes cool to play with new software, to see how things are going, and maybe get a say. Read the Engineering Windows blog, they seem to be really listening to customers this time, and that is what testing is for. So the money you spend on the final product is money better spent.

If you work in a corporate environment and need windows, testing software before release allows you to be prepared for the new product, to know what works and what doesn't, and to perhaps get something fixed so your stuff works.

.. that's kind of a statement, isn't it? :-)

You know that referring to any business as a "convicted felon" just makes you lose any credibility.

Anyways, welcome to the world, this is how it works. Business makes product, consumer buys product. I guess in your la la land, software developers all get paid from that mysterious money tree right?

I sure hope you and your family live in the woods living off the land, because god forbid they should be working for any busineses, or are forced to purchase any product. Hey, how are you even writing this? Did you make this computer out of a tree you chopped down? No, you purchased it from a corporation who "only_ stated goal is to extract as much money from you as it possibly can"...now grow up.

Corporations are dedicated to making as much money as possible _within_ the bounds of law, which is why Microsoft was in fact found guilty of monopolistic practices, which is in fact a major crime, not to mention anti-capitalistic.

As a consumer and citizen, the free market is a means to creating the greatest social good through economic growth, technological innovation and job creation, I don't care about making as much money as possible. And that is why I am grateful that we have rules against anti-competitive practices which inhibit all those things. It's a good thing that people do care about other things besides money or we'd still be using crappy dialup on rubber couplers over analog handsets owned by Ma Bell.

I don't understand this. You seem to be saying that beta testers for Windows 7 or Ubuntu are somehow paying $30 an hour for the privilege. Said money goes either into Microsoft's coffers or to 'millions of people' somewhere, depending which product you're testing. Not my words - yours.

Now, brace yourself, I've got some good news for you - it's quite free to beta test either of them! I've been testing Windows 7 since mid January and it hasn't cost me a penny. And last time I checked, Ubuntu was just as free to beta test!

No, he's saying that beta tester is a paid for job that in this case some people are doing for free so a corporation saves some money in the process of developing a commercial product.
It's a matter of maximizing the profit getting people to work for free.

Then he went to compare it with beta testing ubuntu, which is a free (in every sense) product.