GTEK's Beta Testing Program

Getting Started as a GTEK Beta Tester

Please take the time to read through this before downloading the new betas or leaving bug reports. In order to achieve the desired results - a bug free program - we have set up some guidelines for our beta testers to follow. We have tried to include everything you might need to know about becoming a beta tester. If you find that something missing, please feel free to leave a message so that we can make the appropriate changes.

Purpose of a Beta Team

The main purpose of a beta team is to test a product for bugs and fix them, prior to release to the general public. As a beta tester, you have access to the engineer developing the product. We value the beta testers ideas, not only on the current project, but also any ideas for new developments.

Beta testing can be challenging and a lot of fun, but the phone bills can get steep. You can Telnet to our BBS from the Internet to curb most of the phone bill costs but it also takes a considerable amount of your time to stay current with the beta and test each of the new revisions as they are made available. We are looking for beta testers who will be committed to helping us produce error free products. A good beta team consists of the engineers and the testers working together to get the product ready for release.

The following rules are to be followed by all those who participate in any of our beta programs. These rules are not meant to inhibit our beta testers, we just need to set a few standards for everyone to follow. This will make our Beta Testing Program successful. These rules are in place to let you know what course of action to take when you find bugs or other problems. Following these rules and guidelines, will help you become a better beta tester.

GTEK's Beta Testing Team - Rules

Beta Reports - All messages about the beta you are working on are to be e-mailed to beta@gtek.com only. Do not post messages in Newsgroups, Online Services or anywhere else. The Non-Disclosure Agreement you signed states that the information regarding a beta release are to be kept CONFIDENTIAL. You will be removed from the beta team for breaking this rule and it could lead to other actions.

DO NOT CALL Technical Support - You have direct access to the people who wrote the program in the beta conference and you should be taking full advantage of that. Our Technical Support staff does not have time to assist beta testers with beta related problems over the phone.

DO NOT CALL our Sales Office - Our sales staff can not assist you with questions or will they transfer you to Technical Support. Send an e-mail message to beta@gtek.com. If a voice call is the only way to resolve the situation, the engineer will answer you.

Put our beta programs through the ringer! A good beta tester will not only use the programs as they are supposed to be used, but will put the programs into a variety of situations just to see what happens. Not only will this flush out bugs that may otherwise not have been found, but also stimulates ideas that previously had not been thought of. Just remember to back up your system!

Bug Reports - When leaving bug reports, be as descriptive as possible. Don't leave us a message that says "The latest version doesn't work!" In order for us to be able to address the problem, we have to be able to reconstruct it. We need to know things like: Why didn't it work? What version are you running? Under what circumstances does it not work? Do a little troubleshooting and see if you can find a pattern to the problem. Please try to remember that the more information you give us the better our ability to fix the problem.

Stay current with the beta - Even if things are working fine for you, post a message once in a while stating so. If you are inactive for a lengthy period of time, you may be removed from the beta team. We will replace inactive members with new people so we can get more input. If everything is working fine for you, please tell us. We never get to hear enough "good news".

TEAMWORK = BUG FREE Releases - Remember that we are part of a team, we all need to work together. The engineers work as hard as they can to catch everything, but sometimes things slip through (All good beta testers know that the "b" in beta stands for backups).

Beta Testing = FUN! Testing new products can be a lot of fun. You get to be part of a select team and work with the people who actually develop the products. Make suggestions and offer changes you would like to see. This is a team effort and can not be done without Beta Testers.

Additional Guidelines for Beta testing

• When writing bug reports, please use the following criteria: On the subject line of your message, indicate which beta program you are reporting AND the version # of that program. In the message body, explain the problem you are having, including the steps to recreate the problem. This is extremely important! Without these steps, we have no way of recreating it here. Include any information you feel is relevant. A screen capture of the problem is helpful, if possible.
• We have direct Telnet access from the Internet to bbs.gtek.com. This may help with some of the phone costs.
• MAKE BACKUPS OF EVERYTHING FIRST! Believe it or not, there are beta testers out there who forget to backup their stuff before messing around with a beta version. No one likes emergencies and no one likes to crash and burn. Backing up your stuff keeps your system operating and gives us time to fix the problem without being pressured into an emergency situation.
• We are professionals at GTEK and will always conduct ourselves as professionals. We hope that our beta testers will also act accordingly. Our engineers are very responsive to the comments of our beta testers. When reporting problems or things that you want to see changed, you will find a more positive response and a much better chance of getting your changes made if things are kept on a courteous and professional level.
• Help us with your ideas. Believe it or not, we can't come up with everything. If you do not like the way something works or is designed, try to offer ideas on how to make it better. Complaining about it without offering up a suggestion on how to make it better doesn't help much. Make suggestions on ways you think it can be improved. We are listening.
  
  

Sound like a good idea? All we ask is that you read our Non-Disclosure Agreement and register.

Or get the heck out of here and go