Hi Connie, I joined the developer program a couple of years ago, which means a yearly payment and access to the betas. There has been a public beta program all year as well; I'm not sure how you sign up for it though.
Best, Anna > On Oct 22, 2015, at 2:00 PM, Connie Mohney <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi Anna, > Just because I'm curious, what does someone have to do to become a beta > tester? Do you have to have any certification or experience? Are you an apple > employee? Thank you for answering my questions. > Connie > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of > Woody Anna Dresner > Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2015 1:10 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: A Quick Word On Beta Testing > > > hi, > > I've been beta testing iOS for a couple of years now, and while Apple doesn't > get to all the bugs right away, I have been pleased with the degree of > feedback I've gotten from their engineering staff and the bugs they have > fixed that I've reported. I wish there was a longer time period between WWDC > in June and iPhone releases in September, as I think the current timeline is > incredibly tight. It seems to be too tight for them to fix everything. But > Apple is definitely trying, most of the bugs this year affected fewer users > than last year's bugs, and they've fixed a lot of bugs since iOS 9 was > released, including crucial ones like answering the phone and the focus > issues. So I think they're doing reasonably well overall. > > Best, > Anna > > >> On Oct 22, 2015, at 11:59 AM, Wayne Merritt <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Everyone, >> Think for a moment how many bugs and issues there were in iOS 8.X last >> year. A number of them were directly related to VoiceOver and a number >> were in the mainstream. Apple got so much ill will from everyone >> across the board for putting out things that didn't work. Now, with >> iOS 9, I haven't seen nearly as much outcry among the masses for the >> buggy and half-baked job Apple did with iOS. There are things that are >> bugs for some and not for others, but now that the focus issues have >> been fixed, I haven't seen any other bugs that I can't live with. >> Okay, so the phone does not automatically announce the time when I >> press the home or power button; I can still touch the part of the >> screen that has the time and check it that way. Or, here's a thought, >> look at another clock or watch if I really want to know what time it >> is. And, for those thinking that Apple has sooo many bugs and no one >> else does, widen your scope and look at Windows, JAWS, any screen >> reader or assistive software, or any other widely used mainstream >> software. All major releases has bugs to some degree. If we waited for >> the software companies to fix the bugs before they released the >> software, we would be waiting forever for that next big thing. >> >> Wayne >> >> On 10/22/15, Christopher Chaltain <[email protected]> wrote: >>> Of course you should report bugs. They won't be addressed if Apple >>> doesn't know about them. They may still not be addressed, but that >>> will be a conscious decision made by Apple and their developers. Your >>> target isn't other users but the Apple developers. If you weren't >>> going to do something because of a negative reaction by a minority of >>> members on this list or in any community then you'd never do anything. >>> >>> You may be able to shrug off bugs when you upgrade, but that doesn't >>> mean everyone can. I did that with IOS up through 8.4, but with IOS >>> 9, answering phone calls with a headset on and responding to emails >>> is so bad it makes the phone virtually unusable for two tasks I've >>> come to depend on my iPhone for. IMHO, there's too much judgment on >>> this list about the impacts certain bugs have on different users. We >>> all don't use our phones the same way, so we shouldn't pass judgment >>> on another user because they're more impacted by a bug than we are. >>> >>> I don't get the reference to Windows. Apple still has a long ways to >>> go before it gets as much criticism as Microsoft and Freedom >>> Scientific has gotten from their blind users. Furthermore, I don't >>> see the fan boyism for Microsoft that I see for Apple in the blindness >>> community. >>> >>> >>> On 10/22/2015 03:09 AM, Krister Ekstrom wrote: >>>> Hi, >>>> Very well said Mark, but what i ask myself is does it matter what we >>>> as beta testers might say? For every release there has been and >>>> probably will be a tsunami of negativity and complaining and even if >>>> what has been complained about would be fixed to perfection they >>>> complain about the fixes. Either it’s too bloody late or there’s too >>>> little or too much of everything. I’m the type of guy who upgrades >>>> every app and every Os to see what features are there and if there >>>> are bugs, well shrug, nobody’s perfect. As i said before i think >>>> it’s strange that Apple gets so many complaints about things that >>>> aren’t even their fault like apps that are not upgraded and so don’t >>>> work or such. In my time on Windows there wasn’t anything like this >>>> complaining. Nobody ever said that ”freedom scientific or GW Micro >>>> or Dolphin has abandoned us and don’t give a fig about us”. So are >>>> there bugs? Of course there probably are, no big chunk of code is ever bug >>>> free. Should we report them? >>> Yes politely and with enough info to make the folks aware of the >>> problem but i wonder if that’s the case when i hear the tone here and >>> on other forums where blind folks and Apple are the common denominator. >>>> >>>> /Krister >>>> >>>>> 22 okt. 2015 kl. 08:33 skrev M. Taylor <[email protected]>: >>>>> >>>>> Hello Everyone, >>>>> >>>>> I just want to let those of you, who are not beta testers, know, is >>>>> that with any company, be it Apple, Microsoft, Sony, etc, reporting >>>>> a problem, regardless of how important it may appear to be to the >>>>> tester, is not always addressed immediately or, in some cases, >>>>> ever. >>>>> >>>>> It has been my experience that the larger an organization becomes, >>>>> the less responsive, in terms of addressing non-mission critical >>>>> problems, it may appear to be to external testers. >>>>> >>>>> All we, as beta testers can do, is to make the organization aware >>>>> of the problems and hope that it will manage to address said >>>>> problems in a future release. >>>>> >>>>> In my opinion, beta testing is a somewhat thankless job because, >>>>> when bugs get squashed, no one pays attention to them or cares how >>>>> or why they were resolved and when bugs remain, people think that >>>>> the testers are not testing well enough. >>>>> >>>>> To me, beta testing, not just for Apple but for any company is my >>>>> way of showing appreciation for those things in life which I may >>>>> now take for granted; things like clean drinking water, >>>>> electricity, personal liberties, talking ATM machines, >>>>> audio-described movies, screen readers, refreshable Braille >>>>> displays, smart phones, hearing aids, medicine, etc. >>>>> >>>>> Beta testing is also my way of showing my respect for those blind >>>>> and low-vision pioneers who came before me and it is a means by >>>>> which I may, in some small part, leave a legacy to those who will >>>>> follow. >>>>> >>>>> So, when a product is released with a number of bugs, please try to >>>>> keep in mind that were it not for beta testers, that number would >>>>> most likely be much higher. >>>>> >>>>> Most Sincerely, >>>>> >>>>> Mark >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> The following information is important for all members of the >>>>> VIPhone list. >>>>> >>>>> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this >>>>> list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please >>>>> contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list >>>>> itself. >>>>> >>>>> Your VIPhone list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> >>>>> The archives for this list can be searched at >>>>> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/. >>>>> --- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>> Groups "VIPhone" group. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>> send an email to [email protected]. >>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone. >>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> Christopher (CJ) >>> chaltain at Gmail >>> >>> -- >>> The following information is important for all members of the VIPhone list. >>> >>> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, >>> or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact >>> the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. >>> >>> Your VIPhone list owner is Cara Quinn - 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If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your VIPhone list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
