When did it become acceptable to consistenly release products under the guise of any of the following terms:

• Beta
• Release Candidate
• Preview
• Test
• Developer Preview
• Sneak Peek
• Public demo
• Launch Preview
• Or any version number less than 1.0?
• (Or combinations of the above)

What others have you encountered? Or great examples of this problem ...?

Songbird, the be-all cross-platform mash-up music player, digital jukebox, etc. (yawn!) is a product that seems to be suffering from this versionitis.

The Songbird 0.2 Developer Preview Release Cadidate 3! What a mouthful! What does that really mean? Version 0.2? No one should download a version 0.2 of any software application and expect it do anything useful. That's how software is versioned. It's well accepted in the software industry.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any explanation from the download link that explained what I should expect in a version 0.2 Developer Preview RC3 release. If, as software developers, web site creators, etc, you don't set expectations, and people have a negative experience, it's VERY easy for your users to abandon your product for good. A negative first impression can lead to a long term negative impression of your product/company/etc.

In looking at their web site though, it's clear that much of the application is functional. So, they need to do one of two things:

• clear up the version and who should really download this application (is this really only for developers?)
• version it appropriately

Maybe take a more agile approach to development and set some realistic accomplishable goals and release a fully supported, non-beta version. For Songbird in particular, maybe trim a couple of features for a version 1.0 release! Keep the quality bar HIGH though! But please, don't confuse poor unsuspecting users with these terms and web site where the product looks nearly complete if it really isn't.

To be clear, I'm fine with beta products. It's one thing to release a beta/preview right before a release, but there should be limited period of time where the "beta" name is stamped and allowed. Your users need to understand the ramifications though of what it means to install or use your beta products very clearly. Especially if data loss is possible, even if the data loss is a "simple" upgrade from a final beta to the real product. Treat beta users with respect as they are your likely champions. If you wipe out their data, intentionally or unintentionally, you may lose a customer for life.

(And since operating systems are a very different beast from the 99.9% of applications most people encounter, my suggestions are still true -- although the period in which a product can be in beta may need to be longer).