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Microsoft's Lack of Nightly Builds For IE

Posted by kdawson on from the think-of-the-developers dept.

Ricky writes "Many wonder why Microsoft doesn't offer nightly builds of Internet Explorer — or at least something more frequent than months-to-years. Ars talks with Microsoft's general manager for IE, who says the IE9 development cycle will look much the same as previous versions. Not a great idea."

14 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. Obvious... by clone53421 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Many wonder why Microsoft doesn't offer nightly builds of Internet Explorer

    Um, because they never have and never will?

    --
    Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    1. Re:Obvious... by eln · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The better question would be why Ricky believes not releasing nightly builds is "not a great idea". What part of Microsoft's standard development cycle would benefit from nightly builds? Why would Microsoft decide to release nightly builds, which are inherently unstable, to a public that loves to pick on MS for producing unstable software? Why would MS risk some bored journalist writing a hit piece on IE 9 based on a particularly faulty nightly build just on the off chance someone out in the ether might give them some useful feedback on it?

      In short, why the hell would they release nightly builds?

    2. Re:Obvious... by El+Lobo · · Score: 5, Insightful
      I wonder if dear kdawson really knows what "a build" is... or if he just saw the words "Microsoft" and "bad idea" and just began salivating...

      Shitty article. Nothing to see here....

      --
      It's time to realise that Abble's products are the biggest abomination these days. Just say NO to the dumb iAbble way!!
    3. Re:Obvious... by cbhacking · · Score: 5, Insightful

      As somebody who has frequently participated in beta tests of lots of software, including Microsoft's, this is spot-on. Sure, their infrequent betas get some good feedback and some good bug reports, but they also get absolutely drowned in a deluge of people on the discussion boards (newsgroups, actually) who complain about:
      A) Nothing particular at all, they just signed on to complain.
      B) Stuff that's completely unrelated to the beta (such as a complaint about IE6 on the IE8 beta discussion)
      C) Stuff that's completely unrelated to the product (complaints about Excel on the IE8 board)
      D) "How dare Microsoft release [a beta of] this product with such-and-such [known, sometimes in release notes] bug!"
      E) "WTF I installed the latest version of X, and now I can't access my Y, so I'm switching to competitor Z and never buying anything Microsoft again!"
      F) Complaints about Beta 1 bugs during Beta 2 or RC test phases.
      G) Complaints from people who installed the software on a production machine, and expect Microsoft to provide support for it.

      These are the types of morons that Microsoft has to deal with. I've seen some of this type of behavior in other betas, to be sure, but some of the problems, especially D, E, and G, are most common on the MS betas. People just seem to expect that any code from MS will be production-ready and expects the company to stand behind their software as though it were a released product.

      Microsoft would be *insane* to release nightly builds to a group like that. A closed beta nightly program, maybe (participants culled from those who are actually useful and productive on the public beta) but certainly not open. Especially considering point F above; people already can't always keep up with the pace of the infrequent releases, and asking them to identify the build number they're using would be an exercise in futility for far too many.

      --
      There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
  2. Agile isn't the only legitimate way! by syousef · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What does MS offer nightly builds for??? It's just not how they work. They're a typical monolithic development house that deals only with releases and occasionally lets beta code out. There are benefits to the approach like not trying to shoot a moving target when it comes to bugs etc. People who've grown up with agile seem to think it's the only way to do quality assurance.

    --
    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
  3. Security Updates? by DigiShaman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Umm, isn't that what Update Tuesdays are for? Constantly patching IE along with other OS updates?

    --
    Life is not for the lazy.
  4. Normal by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    WTF? Most companies don't release nightly builds of their software. Why on earth are we singling out Microsoft, and only one of their products at that? Infrequent releases are the norm, not the exception, and while you may argue that it should change, it's ludicrous to single out one program among thousands for following the standard practice.

    --
    "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
    1. Re:Normal by dingen · · Score: 4, Informative

      WTF? Most companies don't release nightly builds of their software.

      Not when it comes to web browsers. You can get nightlies from every single other major browser, except for IE.

      --
      Pretty good is actually pretty bad.
  5. Re:Confused about article, any developers here? by CannonballHead · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Additionally, the article seems to take some things for granted...

    the reality is that every other browser has a more regular release cycle than IE does, and that keeps them relevant.

    I guess Opera's release and development cycle(s) is why it is so popular!

    The result is a strong perception that IE is lagging behind, no matter how great the major release versions are.

    The perception that IE is lagging behind has nothing to do with a bad development cycle, it's more tied to ... bad development and a not-very-good product.

    and the browser's updates are pushed through Windows Update. The actual browser doesn't have its own updating system, and this is a large part of the reason that over 40 percent of users are still using IE6 and IE7.

    That's an interesting assertion. The only backup he gives are numbers for browser stats.

    On the whole, this seems like one guy doing an editorial and talking off the cuff. That's how it struck me, anyways.

  6. Who is Many? by clinko · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Many wonder why Microsoft doesn't offer nightly builds of Internet Explorer."

    Whoever "Many" is, they seem to always be interviewed by Ars and FoxNews.

    1. Re:Who is Many? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Many believe this was a random baseless comment.

  7. More Microsoft Bashing by maxrate · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why is the finger always at Microsoft? I vote we embargo the use of the word Microsoft on Slashdot, say, for a month. Usually any Microsoft related post is biased and ill-spirited - getting very old. There are countless software vendors that do not release nightly builds. As much as I adore Slashdot, all the MS haters on here often make me feel as if I'm associating myself with a 'new low' of computer users (sometimes). Kinda like finding yourself in the company of a bunch of racists. It's very fashionable on \. to hate Microsoft. Don't like their stuff?...simply use something else and STFU. I do agree with the article's opinion of saying the update process Microsoft uses is broken - I think Microsoft can do better.

  8. Coming up next by Sowbug · · Score: 4, Funny

    Can bees think? A new study indicates that no, they cannot.

  9. This story is bookmarked by Osrin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Filed under "weirdest story ever to appear on /."

    Next week we can discuss the outrage that stems from Microsoft's refusal to offer free back massages on the New York subway.