For the latter half of the last decade, Google software was synonymous with the word “beta." Gmail, the company's Web-based e-mail client, carried the beta label for more than five years -- finally dropping the descriptor in July.
What does it mean, and why do so few recent Google services start off with it? For a definition, we turn to Google's dictionary.
Beta: “The 2nd letter of the Greek alphabet."
OK, what else you got?
Beta: “Preliminary or testing stage of a software or hardware product."
Beta, as a term to describe programs, had existed long before Google. But the search giant popularized it as a public-facing caveat of sorts -- an excuse for software with the occasional hiccup or the obvious missing feature.
Well, it's still in beta.
Why, then, was Google Buzz -- the newest Twitter competitor in town -- not given the beta qualifier? Since launching the social service as a feature of Gmail, Google has taken heat for a bevy of privacy issues and usage annoyances. The product was tested internally for some time, was reviewed and revised, and finally pushed to all users of Google's e-mail service seemingly as a final product.
It's not. Google has responded to public criticisms several times in the month or so that it's been available. Many privacy complaints have been amended, and most recently, the company added options to silence noisy notifications.
What does it mean, and why do so few recent Google services start off with it? For a definition, we turn to Google's dictionary.
Beta: “The 2nd letter of the Greek alphabet."
OK, what else you got?
Beta: “Preliminary or testing stage of a software or hardware product."
Beta, as a term to describe programs, had existed long before Google. But the search giant popularized it as a public-facing caveat of sorts -- an excuse for software with the occasional hiccup or the obvious missing feature.
Well, it's still in beta.
Why, then, was Google Buzz -- the newest Twitter competitor in town -- not given the beta qualifier? Since launching the social service as a feature of Gmail, Google has taken heat for a bevy of privacy issues and usage annoyances. The product was tested internally for some time, was reviewed and revised, and finally pushed to all users of Google's e-mail service seemingly as a final product.
It's not. Google has responded to public criticisms several times in the month or so that it's been available. Many privacy complaints have been amended, and most recently, the company added options to silence noisy notifications.
