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Traverse

macrumors 604
Mar 11, 2013
7,688
4,400
Here
Are the betas usually very unstable? (I know that is the point of the beta, but I mean severely unstable.)
 

Cyborg21

macrumors 6502
Sep 2, 2013
332
0
Really good move for Apple. A lot of people interested in newest Apple operating systems, so when non-developers start testing them, they will get more reports and opinions that will increase quality of OS X.
 

GIZBUG

macrumors 68020
Oct 28, 2006
2,424
1,541
Chicago, IL
Are the betas usually very unstable? (I know that is the point of the beta, but I mean severely unstable.)

Been running BETA OSX versions for the last 3 years, and have had 0 stability issues (running 10.9.3 now, have been for a few months)
 

codewrangler

macrumors regular
Jun 17, 2009
139
336
Las Vegas, NV
That depends. Do you just get the beta software, or do you also get a whole load of developer resources along with the developer software?

Also, the ability to submit Apps to the AppStore...that's the main reason to join the developer program...it's only $99 a year....go ask Microsoft how much is the yearly cost for MSDN. :)
 

xgman

macrumors 603
Aug 6, 2007
5,672
1,378
I can see this going terribly wrong. Stuck with a bad bug without an easy route back if not on a testing partition. Hmmm . . .

----------

Been running BETA OSX versions for the last 3 years, and have had 0 stability issues (running 10.9.3 now, have been for a few months)
Only problem is there are some apps that must update when new OSX versions come out and they simply won't work during the beta period.
 

namethisfile

macrumors 65816
Jan 17, 2008
1,186
168
do you think 10.9.3 beta is worth trying out if i can do it to see if it fixes the constant kernel panicking of those affected mid-2010 MBP's with the nvidia gt330m dGPU?

i've banged my head a hundred times over the last few weeks at a virtual wall trying to figure out why my mid-2010 15" MBP w/ this gt330m dGPU keeps on kernel panicking. maybe it's scared at something i am not aware of. i don't know. i am doing everything i could do that is available to me to do. i had os x10.9.2 and i rolled back to os x mountain lion and the same thing. same KP experiences.

so, now i rolled way way back to os x snow leopard and so far so good. i've played COD: MW for 30 minutes without KPing. I've used garageband '11 to compose a multi track test song and i exported it without my computer KPing. and now, i've installed Final Cut Express 4.01 and have edited a test sequence and exported that without my MBP KPing. i am running out of apps to test since most of the apps that i have aren't even compatible with snow leopard. so why can i use Final Cut Express 4 and not FCP X and why is snow leopard okay so far and not mountain lion and mavericks?

i have gone to the apple store to diagnose my computer and it failed the video systems test. the solution to it seems to be a logic board swap but i neither have the money nor do i think swapping out logic boards for the same exact hardware will fix it.

i don't know what's wrong. someone please chime in? also, do you think i should try my luck with this beta program? i mean, even if my computer is stable using snow leopard, it's kind of pointless since i won't be able to use most of my apps, like FCP X, Motion 5, compressor and even pixelmator since they're not compatible with snow leopard.

thanks.
 

milo

macrumors 604
Sep 23, 2003
6,891
522
Looks like this is a separate program from Appleseed, they're keeping that program intact and apart from this new program.

I wonder if this will include 10.10 betas or if they'll just limit it to betas of point release updates?
 

MattG

macrumors 68040
May 27, 2003
3,864
440
Asheville, NC
Is it not working for anyone else? I keep typing in my username/PW and it just kind of refreshes and the password field goes blank. Tried three browsers (including Safari).
 

bekiil

macrumors regular
Jan 1, 2013
113
57
Northern Norway
I only have ONE! request for Apple. Implement Norwegian spellchecking got damn it !!!
There is danish and swedish, close, but not the same.
 

KALLT

macrumors 603
Sep 23, 2008
5,361
3,378
Although I am not interested in a beta release of OS X, you will also get access to the latest iTunes beta with the contacts and calendar sync. I’ve been waiting on that for a while!
 

MikhailT

macrumors 601
Nov 12, 2007
4,582
1,325
Wow, this is awesome. I just hope they will pay attention to what users are having issues with. This is one of the main reasons why Windows 7 was a major success, the long open beta program really improved it big time.

Hopefully, the same thing will happen here but I have a bad feeling that Apple will just release bad releases as is without delaying based on what their beta team said.

I take it that it would not be a good idea to replace one's only system with the beta?

You can install it on a separate partition or install the beta on a fast external drive.

So you would have to run the software in a virtual environment? As a normal user, I wouldn't want to run into bugs in apps regularly used, if my only OS was a beta.

Sort of a risky move for non devs, if you ask me..

it's not a risky move, it worked out excellent for Microsoft. Apple's QA has suffered badly in the last two years, AppleSeed might be the thing to improve it.

In addition, no, you don't have to do this in a VM. You can install it on a separate partition or on a fast external drive. Use the beta full time and if the beta is so bad or unstable, just switch back to the regular OS partition.

Are the betas usually very unstable? (I know that is the point of the beta, but I mean severely unstable.)

Beside one bad install, betas are reasonably stable for me.

You just have to be patient to work around some annoying bugs that might pop up.

Note that .x.x (10.9.3) updates are usually stable. It's the bigger .x major update (10.10) that are going to be unstable for a few months.
 

Parasprite

macrumors 68000
Mar 5, 2013
1,698
144
I've always cloned my main onto an external to run test seeds like this on, it's nice to know I'm going to be able to get it from an official source so I can worry less about hidden software stuck in there by 3rd parties. Not that I know of any cases of this happening with OS X.

Hopefully this will include apple.com/feedback being more up-to-date with it's versions. I don't know how many times I've tried to submit there with an inclusion of "by the way, I'm not running 10.1.1 I'm running 11.0".
 

Cougarcat

macrumors 604
Sep 19, 2003
7,766
2,553
Especially with the rumors OSX redesign coming this year.

This is not necessarily an indication that 10.10 betas will also be available to anyone. They might use this program for smaller updates only, especially considering early large updates are generally pretty rough. It'll be interesting to see what'll happen at WWDC.
 

KALLT

macrumors 603
Sep 23, 2008
5,361
3,378
I take it that it would not be a good idea to replace one's only system with the beta?

Not unless you are willing to cope with possible bugs and instability. Apple does strongly recommend to make backups before even enrolling. Best advice would be to install OS X on another partition and test it there.
 

boecherer

macrumors newbie
Dec 7, 2009
15
2
I take it that it would not be a good idea to replace one's only system with the beta?

You are correct. I did that since I work in IT and need to get up to speed with all the problems and bugs before my clients and I can fix them myself or deal with the consequences since I have a few computers.

For most people, it is best to make sure everything works properly, EVEN before installing the shipping version of the OS.

If you want to play with it, virtualize it or install it on a non-production machine.
 

MARKBOARD

macrumors newbie
Mar 21, 2014
29
2
Thank You :apple: for your open mind it now is a better way to give feedback about any issue :)
 

MikhailT

macrumors 601
Nov 12, 2007
4,582
1,325
Looks like this is a separate program from Appleseed, they're keeping that program intact and apart from this new program.

I wonder if this will include 10.10 betas or if they'll just limit it to betas of point release updates?

We'll have to wait and see, it doesn't make sense to have three completely different programs, it just spreads out their QA team too thinly.

In addition, AppleSeed is mentioned in this Beta Seed a few times. I have a feeling that Apple hasn't had the chance to migrate AppleSeed's database over to this new system yet and they'll handle that over time.

This is not necessarily an indication that 10.10 betas will also be available to anyone. They might use this program for smaller updates only, especially considering early large updates are generally pretty rough. It'll be interesting to see what'll happen at WWDC.

Agreed but Apple would be better off to include the bigger releases.

I think it is possible Apple is reacting to the horrible iOS 7.0 release, they want to prevent the same thing with upcoming 10.10 by getting as much as reports as they can get.
 

bagelche

macrumors 6502
Nov 2, 2007
439
3
Western Mass.
I only have ONE! request for Apple. Implement Norwegian spellchecking got damn it !!!
There is danish and swedish, close, but not the same.

Is that a Norwegian word? (sorry! but it made me laugh.)

Anyhow... I signed up and have the updates waiting. Waiting until I've finished my backups. I think this is a good move. I agree that we may get less technical feedback notes, but overall I like it.
 

CJM

macrumors 68000
May 7, 2005
1,535
1,054
U.K.
Sweet, signing up in anticipation of a new Mac OS.

Is there a place we can find patch notes?
 

576316

macrumors 601
May 19, 2011
4,056
2,556
You are correct. I did that since I work in IT and need to get up to speed with all the problems and bugs before my clients and I can fix them myself or deal with the consequences since I have a few computers.

For most people, it is best to make sure everything works properly, EVEN before installing the shipping version of the OS.

If you want to play with it, virtualize it or install it on a non-production machine.

I installed Apple's Beta Access Utility as a test and now the App Store is telling me to install the beta OSX. I no longer want to do this or have my Mac enrolled, how do I remove the Access Utility?

Edit: Doesn't matter. I managed to do it via System Preferences by choosing to not allow the App Store to show pre-release software updates. I presume this in turn un-enrolls my MacBook entirely?
 
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