@Hyperionmp

Quote:

- a 750 euro deposit to attract the most dedicated people.

So the beta program boards are more than 750 Euro? (Since 750 is only the deposit).

Quote:

Note that you will NOT be considered an end-user if you are allowed into the betatest program.

Ever? Or only during the beta?

_________________
Pegasos2 G3 running AOS 4.1 and MorphOS 2.0
Amikit user, tinkering with Icaros VM (AROS)
EFIKA owner
Amiga 1200

Its my understanding an "end user" is a paying customer.

"Note that you will NOT be considered an end-user if you are allowed into the betatest program."

So, if my first sentence is true, then beta testers will not have to buy the x1000 os4 port when its complete.

It's also normal to do a very small rev 1 proto run to verify that the schematic/etch is correct. Corrections are made, if any, & a rev 2 production etch is made. Those waiting for a rev 3 etch will most likely be waiting forever.

_________________
Hate tends to make you look stupid...

I must say Ben's post gave me a good old laugh. I can see where he is going with his Amigan filter but it is totally unenforceable. I had a bit of fun with this, no mean spirit intended I just want to highlight the absurdity of this.

Quote:

- ability to assemble a full system with just a bare motherboard and memory provided to you

In order to test this in advance please report to your nearest Amiga user group so that Ben can watch via Skype and a webcam you choose between a range of different cases and try and install an ancient BTX form factor motherboard, memory and boot it.

Quote:

- ability to file accurate and detailed bugreports in a dedicated bugtracker (Bugzilla) in order to help AmigaOS 4 developers track down any remaining issues

In order to check your credentials we are giving you a Bugzilla login. Please download the special version of SabreMSN with a bug in it and await a call from Ben Hermans. Ring ring!
Ben: FREAK! DOUBLE CLICK NOW!
Candidate: whaa........?
Ben: TICK bloody TOCK!
Candidate: ok ok ok ...
Candidate clicks
Candidate: It grimmed, what do I do now?
Ben: You got 30 seconds left WHAT DO YOU DO? WHAT DO you DO!!!
Candidate thinks, ah, bugzilla
Candidate logs in after scrabbling for details, and gets as far as typing in "it crashed" before..
Ben: Times up FREAK!
*Silence while Ben checks Bugzilla*
Ben: You failed. Wheres your grim trace? Wheres your eloquent description of your new Amiga system and everything you got connected into it? Hmmmm? How on EARTH is Jahc going to find the bug that he deliberately put in with this description "it crashed!"???? Now **** off back to using Ubuntu lamer!

Quote:

- sufficient dedication and time to test newly developed components which are released on a daily basis (as is the case now for AmigaOS development and AmigaOS betatesters)

This mean daily tests? Does that mean you get given a test plan? Does it mean its going to be organised. After all function shipped on a given day might not be applicable to a given install. Please supply a breakdown of your schedule for the next three months.

1 week in

Phone rings.

Ben: FREAK!!! You've not FILED a report or replied on the ML for over 3 days!
Freak: Sorry dad. I *stutters* was at a job interview, my cat died and my girlfriend was pregnant.
Ben: Insufficient dedication. Go buy yourself a Mac.

*Calls back*
Ben: It was the girlfriend claim that gave you away.

Quote:

- adherence to the terms of a NDA as part of a larger contract which allows everyone to pull out with a full refund prior to actual shipping of the hardware

Phone rings...
Ben: Have you ever broken an NDA before?
Freak (lies): No?

Quote:

- a 750 euro deposit to attract the most dedicated people.

Welcome to capitalistopia where your dedication is measured by your bank balance.

Phone rings....
Ben: Where did you get this money?
Freak: I did 750 paperrounds yesterday, but I'm really on the dole and a layabout but here is my credit card number
Ben: Welcome to the beta-tester programme

Quote:

- people who beieve that by signing up, they will learn the identity of the CPU or other undisclosed information which most likely will only be disclosed prior to shipping at which time they can bail out with a full refund if they don't like the specs

Does this mean that if you sign up, you wont learn the identity of the CPU you have bought? Cool! You should sell this new cloaking device technology.

Quote:

- people who do not intend to abide by the terms of the contract including the NDA provisions (which they can evaluate prior to signing or not signing) as this will not be taken lightly at all

They evaluate whether they intend? You don't evaluate it?

Quote:

Existing AmigaOS 4 betatesters have precedence over "newbies" and people with a development trackrecord will have precedence over people without such trackrecord. Other than that, it will be "first come, first served".

And woe betide your track record. But I already posted about that on amigans.net

Seriously, good luck to people, and good luck to the people actually DEVELOPING the drivers for X1000. But unless this beta tester programme is properly managed, with proper test plans, people wont have the first clue of what is really expected of them and nor will the developers get the information they need. But I'm sure with the voluminous experience of managing people who pay to work Hyperion are going to get it right.

Absolutely sure.

100%

No question.

But in truth its more likely that names that submit will be talked about, discussed if they are "right" or not and many discarded. If they even get 20 applicants at the end that meet their filter I'd be surprised. I'd also be pleasantly surprised if they DID say we had 100+ applicants and chose 20. This would indicate some level of quality control and that they were serious about what Ben is claiming is the criteria above. Otherwise its an artificial number.

Anyhow, prepare for your rejection slips

(I wonder if this will end up in my Stasi file?

Last edited by DaveP on 30-May-2010 at 05:54 AM.
Last edited by DaveP on 30-May-2010 at 05:49 AM.
Last edited by DaveP on 30-May-2010 at 05:47 AM.

_________________
--
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Thats why I keep logs.

Quote:

I'd also be pleasantly surprised if they DID say we had 100+ applicants and chose 20.

You are a very trusting person, it seems.

Does not compute Bernie

_________________
--
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Thats why I keep logs.

Quote:

So the beta program boards are more than 750 Euro? (Since 750 is only the deposit).

How will the beta testers ever know that they got a discount, anyway --- whatever the actual price for the beta tester boards plus memory is, there will never be anything to compare it to; A-Eon have made it abundantly clear in the past that they have no intention of selling bare boards, and will rather only sell complete systems.

So even if, for the sake of the argument, the 750 Euro turns out to be "it", and then sometime in summer or autumn the "real thing" is released for, say, 1500 Euro, including an R700 class gfx card, hard disk, case, power supply, DVD-burner, and AmigaOS-branded keyboard and mouse.... was there ever really a discount?


(Oh, and I can't be the only one who wonders whether TrevorD actually wrote that piece of PR; I doubt that a successful businessman and UK resident with his background would get something as trivial as ordinal numbers wrong. Now, someone for whom English is a second, third or fourth language, and whose daily life happens to take place in Belgium, sure, such a person might write "23th". But Trevor? Seems unlikely...)

Quote:

Does not compute Bernie :)

Well, what if I told you that Claudia Schiffer had once begged me to spend 4 weeks on a deserted island with her, but I had to turn her down because I was just finishing up Amithlon.... would your reaction be one of surprise at my level of dedication and professionalism? Or rather one of well-deserved scepticism?

Similarly, if someone tells you they had produced 100 boards for beta testers, and had 100 applications for beta testing, but due to their strict dedication to only selecting the best and brightest, had to scale back the planned program size to a mere 20 participants --- would not a sceptic wonder about a few things?

Of course, if 80 people with a preexisting history and reputation actually spoke up and identified themselves as having applied unsuccessfully, the business acumen of A-Eon might be top of the list. Without it, however, more, uhm, "existential matters" come to mind :)

Another example --- if I told you that I ran a marathon a couple of weeks ago, would you question my sanity, or my veracity? What with there being video evidence on Aminet of me being your typical, overweight and underfit computer nerd?

What if I told you that on the cynicism meter I make James Randi look like a believer and you go read my post again

_________________
--
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Thats why I keep logs.

Quote:

What if I told you that on the cynicism meter I make James Randi look like a believer

Then I would seek refuge in the old "Oh my, so many nuances get lost in writing" cliche.

Hypothetically, of course, or subjunctively, if you will, just like the very premise of our little back-and-forth :)

Last edited by umisef on 30-May-2010 at 06:53 AM.

@DaveP
I guess they should just give-up and not get any beta-testers, right? In fact the whole idea of users beta-testing ANYTHING is ridiculous? And why do people bother with CVs for job applications anyway, when they can just lie about everything?




... Or maybe Hyperion's list of qualifications for the ideal beta-tester is just a guide to both them & applicants? To help guide their selection process, much like a list of requirements for a job application? And to help applicants not waste their time by applying for beta-testing for which they are not suitable? It doesn't guarantee they pick good beta-testers, any more than a job interview guarantees the best applicant is picked for a job, but it should help increase the chances of good beta-testers being picked. Better to have 50% good beta-testers than 10%, right?

_________________
Author of the PortablE programming language.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue...

@Chris

You'd really do much better if you reply to what I am saying, rather than talking past me.

Quote:

I guess they should just give-up and not get any beta-testers, right? In fact the whole idea of users beta-testing ANYTHING is ridiculous? And why do people bother with CVs for job applications anyway, when they can just lie about everything?

What has this got to do with the price of fish? Of course they should get beta-testers. The whole idea of users beta testing something is not ridiculous so long as it is properly organised with a test plan so that it delivers early the results that development need to get it right and ensures proper coverage.

CVs for job application can be checked, I've had two jobs recently one of which conducted a full background check into my CV before an interview, and the other after as well as an ECRB check. It is the job of human resources departments to check the claims of applicants which is why you have an interview (to determine suitability - and in development you get a programming test more often than not), and then generally references are taken up.

Quote:

... Or maybe Hyperion's list of qualifications for the ideal beta-tester is just a guide to both them & applicants?

I believe I said as much.

Quote:

To help guide their selection process, much like a list of requirements for a job application? And to help applicants not waste their time by applying for beta-testing for which they are not suitable? It doesn't guarantee they pick good beta-testers, any more than a job interview guarantees the best applicant is picked for a job, but it should help increase the chances of good beta-testers being picked. Better to have 50% good beta-testers than 10%, right?

Tell me where I am disagreeing with this?

They will have all their work ahead of them, if the end result is to get effective testers then there is one thing needed (and money is not one of them) - and the burden is on management to select the right applicants and then manage them with courtesy and efficiency to get the job done in time. If the objective is to bring in 80k then thats another thing altogether.

Sorry, I do happen to work in this industry And I do mean "work", I'm working today in fact, from 10 through to 6pm, to avoid a schedule slipping.

_________________
--
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Thats why I keep logs.

@DaveP/#63

Thank you, I had tears in my eyes from laughing ... real comedy.

_________________
X1000|II/G4|440ep|2000/060|2000/040|1000

@AmigaBlitter

Send an email to contact (at) a-eon.com, I can guarantee you will get a reply.

TrevorD

_________________
No, I don't need no reason, I'm just breezin'

Sorry Bernie, have to hold my hands up to that one! It was me.

The original News item was written on the 19th and forward for submission. It was reworded slightly a few days later and as you say the "th" was not changed to "rd". Doh!

BTW, I been overwhelmed by requests for information to join the Beta Test Team & Program. I am slowly working my way through all the emails and I will reply to all of them asap. If anyone is interested in joining the program just send an email to contact (at) a-eon.com. You will receive a reply.

TrevorD

Last edited by TrevorDick on 30-May-2010 at 09:18 AM.
Last edited by TrevorDick on 30-May-2010 at 09:11 AM.

_________________
No, I don't need no reason, I'm just breezin'

Here you go, you can use this:

Dear _______

Thank you for your interest in the AmigaOS4 Beta for X1000 programme. After reviewing your submission we have decided, because we want our customers to have the bestest possible Amigoid experience that it would be in your interest to enjoy the GA'd version of the product.

Please send us any further submissions you might have for our consideration.

Yours

TrevorD
Random House Publishing

It might need a little editing to hide where I got it from.

_________________
--
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Thats why I keep logs.

DaveP

?

TrevoD

_________________
No, I don't need no reason, I'm just breezin'

Removed double post

Last edited by TrevorDick on 30-May-2010 at 09:52 AM.

_________________
No, I don't need no reason, I'm just breezin'

A nice standard rejection slip, edited from one I may or may not have recieved from a certain publishing house who may or may not have sent me one.

Lets unsuitable people down nicely, saves typing.

_________________
--
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Thats why I keep logs.

@DaveP

Quote:

A nice standard rejection slip

Ah, now I understand.

Sorry about the rejection though.

TrevorD

_________________
No, I don't need no reason, I'm just breezin'

TrevorD

I'm not, it was a very bad short story. Sometimes we all need a kick up the proverbial to get us off the hammock and back into the office with dreams of becoming the next JK Rowling with smaller breasts shattered.

D

_________________
--
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Thats why I keep logs.