Alpha and beta software?
QI was wondering what the risks are of installing beta versions of software tools that you recommend? Is it worth waiting for a final release? On that same note, I’m aware that there are also alpha versions of some apps – I assume these are even more risky?
Chris Knight
AFirst, let’s consider the basic difference between alpha and beta software, which is that the latter is in a more advanced state of development than the former. So a beta version of any given program is likely to prove more reliable and thus ‘safer’ than an alpha version.
Neither state is necessarily considered fit for release to general users, but only the most experienced hands should consider tinkering with alpha versions. In theory, an alpha version will soon enough evolve to beta stage, and eventually to release. We say ‘in theory’ because many tools, especially utilities from smaller developers, languish in beta or even alpha stage indefinitely. This is partly the nature of independent software development, where features are forever being tweaked, or new stuff added.
On the matter of risk, while we wouldn’t rush to use an alpha version for the sake of it, we also wouldn’t avoid an early-version tool that we fancied – if we thought the risk was low.
Take the popular independent developer Nirsoft, for example. They offer alpha tools for download at www.nirsoft.net/alpha. While we’re not suggesting any one of them is safer or riskier than any other, we’d be much more cautious about an alpha version of a tool like Reghivebackup (see screenshot) than, say, Event log providers view. Why? Because while Event log providers view merely collates a list of information, the Reghivebackup extracts information from the Windows registry – and we’d always be wary of casual use of an alpha tool that interacts with such a crucial part of the operating system.