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Has Google Redefined Beta?
netbuzz writes "Someone finally took the time to do a count of all the Google apps marked 'beta.' And with fully 45% of its products carrying that familiar tag — including 4-year-old Gmail — Google says there's an explanation: Beta doesn't mean to them what it has long meant to the rest of the tech community. 'We believe beta has a different meaning when applied to applications on the Web,' says a company spokesman."
Several companies used "beta" to indicate that product is just not supported. For instance ICQ was beta for like 4-5 years? Don't remember exactly.
So nothing new here actually.
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I think that it's less that Google have redefined Beta, but that they've bought it back to what it SHOULD be- usable and feature-complete software which is just undergoing stringent testing for subtle defects and bugs.
Actually, you're wrong (about google going back to what Beta SHOULD be, not about what it should be). From TFA.
"We believe beta has a different meaning when applied to applications on the Web, where people expect continual improvements in a product.."
They're not stabilizing, they're adding features.
My guess is that they call everything "beta" so as to limit the amount of complaints they get when something breaks. "Oh, wait, you were using a beta application to conduct your important company communications? I'm sorry, didn't anyone tell you that beta software doesn't come with the same expectations for reliability and data integrity as released, production code? Silly rabbit!"
With beta software they can break or alter anything at will and our only course of action is to say "Thank you; may I please have another?"