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my 2 pennies ...
- it is way better for any software to have its bugs caught and fixed while in beta testing. Users expect it and will appreciate the fact that they were given the chance to test it. If, however, same set of bugs are caught after it is declared 'production', the attitude, image, and perception will be quite different. Users will get disappointed, demote the product, and look elsewhere. Notice that we are talking same set of bugs, yet very different outcomes.
Having said that, I do strongly recommend that kinook do come up with a beta testing group external to their own labs. Why not release a beta version with all traces enabled. Ask users to beat the crab out of it and report their findings. Not only that, you can even take it a step farther divide up the work....
- have a set of users test the OL integration piece.
- Test the item management piece e.g. moving, copying, etc...
- and so forth.
all this work should be done in less than month max. I myself participate in 3 beta groups for different kinds of products and I find quite productive and helpful.
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