kweeder@sunny3.che.clarkson.edu (Jim Kweeder) (02/08/89)
I've been offered the opportunity to beta test some Mac software. While I'm familiar with the concept of beta testing and know what I would be getting into, I've never beta tested and not experienced with the agreement that must exist between the developer and the tester. While most of the points in the agreement are cut and dry (bug reports, product evaluation, non-disclosure), I'm unsure about the compensation end of it. I would like to hear from people who are now or have beta tested software. The developer wants to charge me a fairly significant fee to join the testing which I may later apply to purchase of the finished product at some *discounted* price (they didn't specify whether this would be discounted from wholesale or retail). This part of the agreement seemed very fuzzy to me so I'm curious as to what other people have experienced. Currently, I'm more inclined to give them the up-front effort (my analysis of what features the product must have and what I'd like it to have, etc.) for nothing and let them find someone else to wrestle with the bugs. Please e-mail your responses. I'll hold any replys I get in strict confidence if so desired. If you're interested in what I find out, e-mail and I'll give you the general gist. If enough interest is shown, I'll post a summary (suitable for public release) to the net. Thanks, Jim Kweeder kweeder@sun.soe.clarkson.edu