Google Considers Taking Beta Tag Off Gmail

Barence writes "Google is considering removing the beta tag from Gmail — and other online services — a mere five years after it was first launched. Google has become somewhat synonymous with seemingly endless beta cycles. Many of the company's most famous services, including Gmail, Docs, and Calendar all still carry the beta tag. Google now admits the eternal beta cycles could be damaging consumer and business confidence in its online apps. 'It's a minor annoyance and something you'll see addressed in the not-too-distant future.'"

Comments

Google Beta

[dspkable]

I believe more people probably know what Google means then they know what Beta means. Google has become the biggest of the BIG companies (without imploding or needing government bailout). 8 to 1 searchers use Google over Microsoft Search Engine, so what Google's 'beta' is, is really what the industry standard has become.

Put a Beta Tag on Slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

Put a Beta Tag on Slashdot
(in case you can't read the comment titles)

Jesus. Why does Slashdot always look totally broken?

Re:Hahaha

[Tihstae]

Now that they have tested that it indeed can have outages, it is ready for release. Until they had outages, it wasn't fully tested.

Re:Google Beta

[E IS mC(Square)]

But that's the irony! Some (not all) of Google's Beta products are miles better than other "production" products. Go figure.

Tarnished reputation

[spyrochaete]

How can Google be taken seriously in an enterprise environment if their most stable and successful offshoot project takes 5 years to come out of beta? They should have done this 3 years ago or more. Gmail has been sufficiently stable all this time, yet this self-deprecating beta designation has constantly served as an admission of being non-committal to SLA.

Re:Tarnished reputation

[harryandthehenderson]

How can Google be taken seriously in an enterprise environment if their most stable and successful offshoot project takes 5 years to come out of beta?

Probably the fact that the version used by paying customers isn't a beta version? The "beta" version is the free-for-use version that they use to beta test any new features they add.

They should have done this 3 years ago or more.

Why? The free, public version is always going to be in a beta state since that's it's entire purpose.

Gmail has been sufficiently stable all this time, yet this self-deprecating beta designation has constantly served as an admission of being non-committal to SLA.

I'm pretty sure all the corporate customers they have would say otherwise.

Re:Tarnished reputation

[Tei]

"How can Google be taken seriously in an enterprise environment if their most stable and successful offshoot project takes 5 years to come out of beta?"

The Beta tag let Google make changes that judge will make the service much better. These changes withouth the Beta tag are mostly "disallowed". Removing the Beta tag is much like a pact "We will not make mayor changes to the service, that will break your work". In my book great changes to make a service better is a good thing, the level of breaks of Gmail is high, but I can live with it. I will feel sad that the tag will be removed, because will mean maybe much less errors (or maybe not), but It will sure mean less and less enhancements of the service. And I blame the people like YOU.

Marketing Ploy

[pz]

Leaving beta as a part of the name of a given service well beyond the normal limit was a marketing ploy. It generated lots of press and ardent discussion. The tact has run its course. They're removing it as another marketing ploy. That will generate another wave of press and ardent discussion. Ho hum.

Re:Please tag this.

[Eudial]

Indeed. It's all Duke Nukem Forever's fault. Because that is no longer almost to be released, the entire structure of stuff that happens after hell freezes over is unraveling.