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Apple Invites Retail Employees to Test Pre-Release Versions of macOS Sierra

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Apple has begun inviting its retail store employees to try pre-release versions of macOS Sierra, the latest version of its Mac software platform and renamed successor to OS X El Capitan.

Staff who sign up to the voluntary AppleSeed program are set to receive pre-release versions of macOS Sierra to install on their personal computers for use on their own time.

Sierra-seed-program-800x657.jpg

Apple is hoping that staff who get involved will help the company assess how the OS stands up in typical everyday usage scenarios, as outlined in its AppleSeed participation guidelines:
We ask that you use seeded software in your day-to-day activities, which is an environment that cannot be replicated at Apple. We will provide you with a variety of tools that will allow you to give us detailed information about your experience, should you decide to provide feedback to us.
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As usual, the AppleSeed program is subject to a strict confidentiality agreement that prevents employees from publicly discussing their involvement in testing the seed.

Apple has invited retail employees to try pre-release software for the past few years, such as the company's Photos app, which replaced iPhoto and was released last year for OS X.

macOS Sierra was announced on Monday at WWDC 2016, and became available to developers for testing immediately after the company's keynote. Apple says a public beta will be launched in July, while the final public release is coming in the fall.

macOS Sierra includes a number of new capabilities, including Siri desktop integration, an automatic unlocking feature, universal Clipboard support, new iCloud integration, Apple Pay for the web, and more. The new Mac OS also features an entirely new file system, dedicated RAID Support, and an intelligent Optimized Storage function.

The macOS name, which does away with Apple's long-standing OS X naming scheme, also brings the name of the Mac operating system in line with iOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

Article Link: Apple Invites Retail Employees to Test Pre-Release Versions of macOS Sierra
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/06/16/apple-invites-retail-staff-test-macos-sierra/
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Cool! But I'm more interested in news about the upcoming MacBook Pros lmao :rolleyes:

Need more leaks... Announcement dates... Release dates... Anything.... Plssss Apple don't keep us waiting like this :oops:
 
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New iCloud integration!! Oh wow, MORE system slowdowns as everything "phones" "home".

Amiga OS was faster, and I'm running a 12-core.

And why does "an entirely new file system" fill me and millions of others with dread?

:apple:
 
Fishticks said:
Why not fix Wifi, Bluetooth, Airdrop and network issues to begin with ?
Click to expand...
We ask that you use seeded software in your day-to-day activities, which is an environment that cannot be replicated at Apple. We will provide you with a variety of tools that will allow you to give us detailed information about your experience, should you decide to provide feedback to us.
Click to expand...
 
Wow those employees are lucky

**edited 6/17/16 555 AM **

Since some people were spazzing out this was sarcasm folks
 
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I believe even Apple allows everyone to test macOS Sierra, there will still be critical bugs (breaks something, kernel panic etc) out there when it is released at Fall.
 
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xbjllb said:
New iCloud integration!! Oh wow, MORE system slowdowns as everything "phones" "home".

Amiga OS was faster, and I'm running a 12-core.

And why does "an entirely new file system" fill me and millions of others with dread?

:apple:
Click to expand...

Shirasaki said:
I believe even Apple allows everyone to test macOS Sierra, there will still be critical bugs (breaks something, kernel panic etc) out there when it is released at Fall.
Click to expand...

I love the positive attitude! :)
 
I hope this means that the public beta will come very early in July. I really want to play with all the new stuff.
 
I’m neither an Apple employee nor a paying developer... but I got this mail too – and the same for iOS 10.
 
iOSFangirl6001 said:
Wow those employees are lucky
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Yes. They are expected to beta test software on their private, personal equipment in their spare private time. You know, a company with that crap load of money in their bank accounts should at least have the decency to let their employees beta test the new product during work hours on company equipment.

There are a lot of other things that the company could do, but they all have in common that Apple should be generous to its employees, not the other way around.
 
The problem with the new name is that my brain has decided it rhymes with "tacos", and therefore every news article makes me HUNGRY.
 
JimmyJimmyYam said:
The problem with the new name is that my brain has decided it rhymes with "tacos", and therefore every news article makes me HUNGRY.
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Oh why did you have to say that? I never saw it like that. Now I'm getting hungry too.
Looking forward to a chile relleno & two macos for lunch.
 
Did Apple also provide them with early iOS 10 and WatchOS 3? Seems most of the new useful features in Sierra can't be used without them.
 
Winni said:
Yes. They are expected to beta test software on their private, personal equipment in their spare private time. You know, a company with that crap load of money in their bank accounts should at least have the decency to let their employees beta test the new product during work hours on company equipment.

There are a lot of other things that the company could do, but they all have in common that Apple should be generous to its employees, not the other way around.
Click to expand...

Just heard this joke... Guy walks into an Apple store, and the place is empty! No computers in sight, not a Genius to be found! Finally, a kid in an Apple shirt shows up. "So, what's going on, where is everybody?" "Oh, they're all in back, testing the new OS!"

I don't see any hint that anyone is "expected" to test at all. Consistent with the labor laws of many states and countries, as soon as an hourly-wage employee is expected to do something, they have to be paid. Any hint of coercion to work for free, such as "Do this and it'll look good when salary review comes around" is enough to trigger a lawsuit.

What they are doing is inviting a group of people who are known to be at least marginally interested in Apple products, who have a modicum of knowledge about those products and generally have decent technical and diagnostic skills, to join a voluntary software testing program, a few weeks before the rest of the public can start testing. Like anyone else given the opportunity to beta test, they'll either think it's cool and want to do it for free, or they'll ignore the invitation. Perhaps they'll be glad the company thought enough of them to issue the invitation. Since this is isn't the first time Apple has done this, one has to assume the company has had a good experience with this in the past - positive impact on product quality, neutral-to-positive impact on morale.

I started participating in public beta tests back in the mid-1990s. I'm not one of those pound-on-every-key-until-it-breaks guys... I just use the stuff as I normally would. If I encounter a bug, I report it. If not, the only effort involved is downloading and running an occasional installer. In all those years, I can recall only a couple of major problems. Let's face it, you don't learn how to solve problems unless you encounter problems.
 
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