Yes, Chrome Loses Its Beta Status -- Already
by Kristin Shoemaker - Dec. 12, 2008Comments (5)- Related Blog Posts
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When Google's Marissa Mayer told TechCrunch's Michael Arrington that Chrome would drop the beta designation less than two days ago, the implication was that it would happen pretty quickly. When you consider the length of some beta stages (and drawn out, fanfare driven gold releases), Chrome's 1.0 release yesterday was fast and relatively quiet.
InformationWeek shares a little of my aforementioned concern that taking an application out of the testing stage prematurely can have some serious consequences, and it does offer some insight into Google's thought processes.
First, the good news: Google seems to be approaching the 1.0 release with the mindset that the basic structural framework (the speed, stability, and reasonable security measures) of the browser is in a solid, good for daily use form. This lets the developers focus on delivering features, add-ons, and organizational/user experience enhancements that could potentially give Chrome the edge over other browsers.
It will, of course, also make Chrome sound less "green" when Google approaches partners and system builders with formal requests to include the browser on new systems.
There is still cause for concern. Though Chrome's product manager Brian Rakowski says that the developers are looking less at number releases and more at the project as a whole -- that's a double edged sword. It goes without saying that any application, any live, growing, active project is never in a "final" state. It is important, of course, that Google recognizes this, but it's more important (and less likely) the average user will. The issue is that the numbering conventions exist, and rightly or wrongly, have some signficance.
It isn't quite the same animal, I know, but it takes me back to a little less than a year ago, when KDE made its "finalized" stable 4.0 version available with the caveat that it was still really a testing release. At least part of KDE's theory meshes with Google's outlook: this will open the release to more users, more developers, with a wide range of needs and system configurations, and further the testing and development process. Unfortunately, in KDE's case, it didn't go terribly smoothly, and there were a few developer and public relations issues that arose from the idea that "a number release without a testing designation isn't necessarily a stable release." To KDE's credit, the project has overcome many of those issues, is working to address the remaining issues, and will weather the storm. But it proves there is weight given to alpha, beta, release candidates and full release designations, and at least a general perception of what a "stable" (which is probably a better term than "final") release should be.
I don't think that taking Chrome out of beta is going to make or break Google -- or even Chrome itself. Referring back to the KDE case: KDE has far fewer developers, and less money and time to devote to the development process than Google. It also has less time to devote to rebuilding bridges while producing incremental releases that are real, solid, and quite beautiful improvements -- but it has. Google has an advantage in funding and human resources to squash any bugs now that would have normally been addressed before the beta status was lifted. It also has many more people -- users, partners, investors -- watching Chrome carefully. Now might be the right time to take Chrome out of beta, but Google will likely have to focus as much on the road ahead as it does deftly sidestepping those unexpected potholes with this wide release.
