Fire Studios

The latest Internet craze isn't "web 3.0" or jQuery or CSS3, it's a simple term, beta. Beta, a single word that has become the keystone of software development culture. The web is crowded with applications and scripts that tack this little word onto the ends of their names like a conjoined twin that if removed neither could survive.

The "Beta Syndrome" has spawned whole sites dedicated to the tracking and release of "betaware" (ex: Beta News), and is slowly becoming part of our culture and daily lives. I bet that people would be shocked to know that every single person who has logged into the Internet has used a beta application and not known it, Google. The entirety of Google's products are classified as Beta; Google Search, Gmail, Google Earth, GTalk, Analytics, Android, and Chrome are all still under the Beta tag.

So why are all the developers using the term Beta? I've analyzed the 5 most popular software and web apps. to see why they're still claiming that title.

Gmail

You would think that the illegitimate child of Google and Hotmail would be out of its beta phases after these years, but you'd be wrong, the third most popular free mail service (following Hotmail and Yahoo Mail) is still running its race with the beta crutch under its arm.

Why is it still Beta?

There's no reason for Gmail to still be in beta after all it's revisions and upgrades. My only guess can be that some developer forgot to remove the "beta" our of the system version variable.

Aviary

This online sweet of "Adobe Suites"-like web applications is semi-new on the scene but is quite a powerful tool that's brought to you by the people from Wordth1000.com that now bolsters 3 applications for open beta tester use: Phoenix ("Photoshop"), Toucan ("Adobe Kuler"), Peacock (pattern/effect generation). As it's built on the on Flash and Flex, any browser with Flash 8 or higher can use it.

Why is it still Beta?

The suite's forerunner application "Phoenix" still has features and bugs that need to be worked out. More Filters, styles, and brushes need to be configured; plus a brush engine may be in the works. And with 12+ more applications to come out, this suite is poised for some amazing work and opportunities in the future, for now though, this bird is still a nestling.

Windows Live Writer

The best desktop blog article writer on the market has come out recently with its new version that has better blog software support and script support (think lightbox anyone?) not to mention the great new interface. Sounds like everything's in order no?

Why is it still Beta?

I'm sure there are people finding problems somewhere, but I'm using Vista SP1 and there's only been 1 small bug that I've encountered (italics seem to persist when editing with the blog theme enabled). I'm hoping they're adding even more features like beta theme integration, complete post preview, create pages, manage your blogs posts, or custom field support.

Filehippo.com Update Checker

Filehippo.com has been a great resource since I found out about it 1 1/2 years ago for every kind of and bit of software I might possibly need or want. Now they've come out with a desktop application that automatically scans your PC for any software that isn't up-to-date.

Why is it still Beta?

Besides the fact that the application is really new to the market, it's never once crashed or failed. All I believe Filehippo has to do to make this a "must-have" app is to give it a bigger software library. As of right now, it will tell me of all my free software updates (Filezilla, uTorrent, iTunes, etc...) but I would like it to look up drivers and Windows updates maybe even get definition updates from AVG.

Flickr

Flickr is becoming or quite possibly has become the largest photo-sharing site on the web. With millions of members and multiples more of pictures and images, Flickr has become a cultural phenomenon on par with Hoagies at a Mets game.

Why is it still Beta?

With so many users and pictures, scaling can be quite difficult (just ask twitter, they're still trying to figure it out). With the new "Flickr Video" adding one of the last few pieces to the Flickr Puzzle, it should be cleaning things up and moving out to start it's life without it's beta past.