Hi!

I am not a Compuserve member (not any longer that is, I jumped off six
months to early as it seems :-) but I can answer this:

Alain CULOS wrote in message <35539EB3.96E039D2@bigfoot.com>...
>I never knew beta versions were time limited, and it does not make sense
for me to time limit a freeware, but well, they probably have their reasons.


Developers want to make sure that people stop using the old betas once new
ones are published. And that they stop using the betas once the release
version is published. For shareware it is clear: If the beta is free, then
it should stop working once the release is out. But even for freeware it
makes sense: Better to force everyone to move to the next (and finally the
release-) version, than to have several runable versions wizzing through the
net, where then nobody ever could be sure that he/she is using the latest
version, that exported files will be compatibel with the version a friend
uses, that a certain bug is fixed in the version you use etc.
Timelimiting the betas is a good way to tidy that up.
And as a secondary incentive: It keeps the developer(s) on the toes to
actually work on the beta :-) he/they know that the next one is due soon,
and that people expect new features, not only the same beta as before with a
new expiration date...

Johannes.

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