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Half of Google products still in beta (even Gmail): Why?

networkworld.com — The question of why so many Google products are classified "beta" has knocked around the tech press for some time, but begs for an answer today because someone finally took the time to do a count. According to Web monitoring company Pingdom, 45% of Google's 49 products carry the ubiquitous "beta" tag, including Gmail, which debuted in April 2004.

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  • ohnoerino, on 09/24/2008, -4/+52That's so true! Google Docs is pretty buggy, though.
    • svivian, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2Until they support all the major browsers (i.e. including Opera and Safari), they'll always be in beta.
  • snortreport, on 09/24/2008, -5/+69Maybe Google thinks, "why not"?
  • TarSox, on 09/24/2008, -16/+60Maybe they are saying, "You 'beta' get with google 'cause we're taking over the world."
  • ubernoggin, on 09/24/2008, -2/+198Absolves Google of responsibility. If you complain, they can just shrug and say, "it's in beta, what do you expect?"
    • haremchief, on 09/24/2008, -0/+40I don't disagree but I'd think it'd be more like "it's FREE, what do you expect?"... well--the google products that I use are free anyway.
      • triad203, on 09/25/2008, -2/+7I don't really think of them as free, though. They're ad-supported. In exchange for receiving their services, you are viewing their in-line text ads. Google makes Billions of dollars on those ads. Not really giving stuff away for free.
      • ErickStevenson, on 09/25/2008, -0/+9I don't find google ads invasive as much as all the other ads. So still not complaining about google.
      • haremchief, on 09/25/2008, -0/+7@triad203
        I'm pretty oblivious to most ads on websites. I must have some kind of mental adblock installed. Heh, if the matrix were real that would be a pretty funny option before 'jacking'(?) into the matrix.

        Btw, when do you come across ads on google maps/earth? I suppose when you type an inappropriate address and it gives a plethora of options (usually all business related) that's where some ads come into play but where else are ads injected?
      • daza, on 09/25/2008, -0/+3You can still pay for extra storage on Gmail though, and that 'version' is still Beta. It also buys you some more Picassa storage, but you're still paying for a Beta product with Gmail.

        Those interested in pricing - https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageStorage
      • triad203, on 09/27/2008, -0/+1Actually, I don't see most google adverts because I use "CustomizeGoogle" and "AdBlockPlus" Firefox extensions. I still feel like there should be a distinction between free and ad-supported.
    • mahadiga, on 09/25/2008, -1/+5And it is free.
    • juliohm, on 09/25/2008, -1/+11when you think about it... web apps like GMail and Docs are indeed eternally in beta...
      they are constantly changing, improving, modifying... making it better.

      if it ever leaves the beta stage... it'll be obsolete the very next day.
      • orlyfactor, on 09/25/2008, -4/+13Beta != constantly changing. Beta = not fully tested, not ready for a production environment. I write applications and they change all the time, but we call them "enhancements" and "bug fixes", we don't label our app "beta".
      • waydee, on 09/25/2008, -2/+5Alpha would be more appropriate, Beta implies all features are implemented.
      • GMorgan, on 09/25/2008, -1/+1In the real world. RTM means that it only has heap loads of problems left. Beta means it is just about usable. Alpha means that it will rape your young daughter.

        Google are merely being honest when they say Beta.
      • juliohm, on 09/25/2008, -1/+1good point. I agree with you...

        maybe they decided to keep the beat tag so that 10 years later tech savvy people like you and me (and all here) keep arguing why it's there :)

        not a bad marketing strategy.
    • NJank, on 09/25/2008, -0/+1but is it free?
    • bbqribs, on 09/25/2008, -0/+3And the Google fanboi types use it as an excuse for why Google products suck. "It's in beta!" (seen it here too!)
    • daridave, on 09/25/2008, -0/+2Oh, I get it! Updating my marital status to "Relationship ßeta".
      • Albion01, on 09/25/2008, -0/+1And I'm calling the government to see if I can get bailed out of my Gambling(Beta) debt.
    • zakool21, on 09/25/2008, -1/+1I'd have to agree. The article misses the mark. Funny this should be on digg this morning, I was using Google Calendar (like every day) and wondered to myeslf why it is still in Beta.
  • picpak, on 09/25/2008, -3/+83Remember the black dot? Of course Gmail is still in beta.
  • Farhankhan, on 09/25/2008, -16/+4"Some products you can understand why they are in beta, like Knol, Google Alerts, Custom Search, Google Chrome, etc. However, a lot of products that you wouldn't really expect are still labeled as beta.
    Here are a few notable Google products that are still in beta: Gmail, Google Docs, Orkut, and Google Finance.
    We're so used to seeing the little "beta" tag next to the various Google product logos that we almost don't register it anymore. We even had to double-check that Gmail really still was in beta."
    • unusualbob, on 09/25/2008, -0/+10why did you randomly quote from the story and have no comment of your own?
    • thejoker86, on 09/25/2008, -0/+10thank you for restating what i just read. i will thank you also on behalf of those with ADD. my memory is so bad.... btw thank you for restating what i just read
  • megablue, on 09/25/2008, -8/+11because most of the products haven't meet their expectations yet.
    • cardinalb, on 09/25/2008, -0/+1Thats spot on why did that journalist not realise that. Its obvious that the applications are in constant flux hence the beta tag.
  • MrDo, on 09/25/2008, -3/+28Because you can't complain when it does not work.
    "what did you expect from a beta release"
  • RobotLeAwesome, on 09/25/2008, -3/+31Gmail is still in beta because it's actually meant for world domination, email is just a bug they need to work out.
  • gasoline, on 09/25/2008, -7/+18Google Beta, Inc.
    • darkciti2, on 09/25/2008, -1/+1You hit the nail on the head.

      I think they don't pay taxes on revenue from those products because they are not "products" yet.

      Or something along those lines.
    • zyce, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1Google Inc. BETA
  • Zaggynl, on 09/25/2008, -6/+10They're in beta because once they've made a beta product of everything there is (mail,browser,maps,OS) they'll make it payed.
    And because everyone is using Google stuff, instant world domination.

    Paranoid? Me?

    /sarcasm
  • mjr4189, on 09/25/2008, -12/+5everything is still in beta because they are jumping the gun on all there products. Google docs still sucks. chrome sucks, gmail is eh. they keeping moving onto a new project before finishing the old one. i guess thats why everything is free, amirite?
  • benologist, on 09/25/2008, -2/+14I think they do it to change the public definition of beta so other companies using the label correctly look bad when their betas have bugs.
    • zcreem, on 09/25/2008, -5/+1I think you mean alpha, betas have known bugs at launch that's why their called beta
      Of course all programs have bugs otherwise we wouldn't need service packs or anything other than feature updates. All those numbers between 1.0 and 2.0 are normally bug fixes.
  • SilverSeraph, on 09/25/2008, -3/+13Who cares!!!!
  • Angostura, on 09/25/2008, -3/+16If 45% of Google's products carry the "beta" tag, the tag is not ubiquitous. ... Just thought I would be pedant for the day.
  • oscarolim, on 09/25/2008, -5/+7Because they don't want the trouble to change the images... takes to much time.
  • Weed86, on 09/25/2008, -6/+4They are in beta, because google keeps improving them!..
  • vchoy, on 09/25/2008, -5/+5Half of < add vendor here> products still in Gold (and they are still buggy) Why?
  • ShuttleXpC, on 09/25/2008, -3/+5They are trying to be clever and cute. I love Gmail, but its neither clever or cute anymore. Their rep said its cause their products are constantly changing, well so are just about 3/4 of the webs apps, you don't see them going around saying Firefox Beta, Hotmail beta, etc.
  • refriedbeaner, on 09/25/2008, -5/+0Google just A.D.D's too much. Give them some damn riddlin!
    • captainstumpy, on 09/25/2008, -1/+0That would explain why they can't subtract! :o
  • moges, on 09/25/2008, -5/+24Google releases their product, calls it beta and updates it regularly.
    Microsoft releases their products, calls it finished and updates it regularly.

    I prefer Google's way. At least they don't charge for the right to use work-in-progress software.
  • parkamark, on 09/25/2008, -0/+55My life has been in beta for a while now. I don't think it will ever reach live production.
  • Inchenzo, on 09/25/2008, -1/+16Maybe it is because they keep their products in Perpetual beta. (Explanation -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_beta)
    • maninalift, on 09/25/2008, -0/+9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_beta

      your close-bracket messed up the link
      • MtheoryX, on 09/25/2008, -2/+2{} = Braces
        [] = Brackets
        () = Parenthesis
      • Vampired, on 09/25/2008, -1/+2@MtheoryX
        All of them are brackets.
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracket
      • poet, on 09/25/2008, -1/+1@Vampired: Wikipedia is not a valid source of factual information. That said, the article also states brackets "...strictly apply to the square or box type."
      • maninalift, on 10/07/2008, -0/+1@poetpoet and what exactly is a "valid source of factual information". Also, you are clearly intentionally taking the quote out of context in order to misrepresent it's meaning, the beginning of that sentence was "In computer science, the term is sometimes said to..."
    • svivian, on 09/26/2008, -0/+1What? Google's products are in beta because they keep them in beta?
  • bwhite, on 09/25/2008, -5/+3Would you prefer they release products as "Gold" filled with bugs (like Microsoft) and then patch the hell out of them?

    I think its a tounge-in-cheek approach for software releases to set an example to companies who ship products that aren't ready.
  • maninalift, on 09/25/2008, -1/+945% of Google's 49 products carry the ubiquitous "beta" tag

    I know it's not meant literally but still to say "ubiquitous" in the same breath as you say 45% is just silly.
    • svivian, on 09/26/2008, -1/+1They meant the beta tag itself is ubiquitous (many other programs/services have it), not that Google having a beta tag is ubiquitous.
  • nyabutid, on 09/25/2008, -0/+4For those who develop software applications, you will understand that you never finish coding. Once you start developing an application, you will code it through pagatory. So why not leave it in beta so that your users keep coming back for the new chrome. duh... Chrome is yet another product. We are left with polish...
  • FullmetalGinta, on 09/25/2008, -2/+4As soon as i read this article, I opened a Gmail tab and checked if the beta sign was actually there. Wow. I cant believe its actually a beta.
  • tobsterius, on 09/25/2008, -1/+6Does it really matter? While Docs may be buggy, most of their other products that are tagged 'beta' work pretty well.
  • macshaggy, on 09/25/2008, -3/+2I've actually on a mission to use only Google Apps for the next month. I've been blogging about it once a week. Still not 100% crazy about Docs and Gmail. But in order for me to really complain about them I figured I give them a try.

    So far and it's not been bad though I'm compiling a list of things that Google should be attending too. IMHO.

    Cheers
  • Blade2000, on 09/25/2008, -0/+8Makes me wonder why YouPorn.com is still beta too!
    • DestroyFascism, on 09/25/2008, -1/+6Because if it was final the end would have come already and she would a asleep...
  • fuzzlog, on 09/25/2008, -1/+1They must be keeping their products 'beta' so they can't officially be held responsible for the inconvenience they might cause and keep customer pressure low on fixing bugs.
  • zadadka, on 09/25/2008, -0/+3You'll find a large number of Microsoft (etc) apps in use are still Beta too.

    Beta is just a way to release "as if" RTM, but use production environments for debugging...
    Contractual protection is retained by the software house, because Release Notes make it clear it's "your risk".
  • snek, on 09/25/2008, -0/+8It's part of the web2.0 hype.. Look around, all of them are BETA.. You're just not 1337 if you release your products when they are already final! The community thinks they are helping out if they think they are using a beta product. It's all smart marketing tactics, and you are all falling for it! ;p
  • mdude85, on 09/25/2008, -0/+6"where applications live in the cloud"

    Oh I KNOW this guy didn't just drop the C-bomb on me
  • MemoryDump, on 09/25/2008, -1/+1when stuff is in BETA they don't have to support it.. but Google being Google.. they still offer some type of limited support
  • cfuse, on 09/25/2008, -1/+2Because the stuff is like a blood feud, it's never truly finished until everyone is dead.
  • MichaelMH, on 09/25/2008, -1/+2What they need is Gmail Etch and Gmail Lenny
  • itcoll, on 09/25/2008, -2/+2who cares if they are beta or alpha ??? the important thing is they are all great and are constantly improving .
  • xamox, on 09/25/2008, -3/+1I know this keeps me up at night too. Thanks for making me bald google, thanks a million, wait, thanks a googol (gagagagagaga).
  • neowolfwitch, on 09/25/2008, -2/+2A few others have said it- liability. With "Beta" software- Google has no liability and no obligations if the software fails. If you install "Beta" software and it trashes your computer- they aren't obligated to do anything for you. After all- YOU were the one who made the stupid mistake of installing Beta software on your computer and expecting it to work.

    That said- I trust Google's "Beta" software over a certain other software giant's "Gold" software any day.
  • Khast, on 09/25/2008, -3/+3I wish Microsoft would've released Vista as a "Beta" since anything released in public that buggy is obviously a beta. It isn't until the OS matures and becomes stable that it should be considered as a full release. (Never mind the fact that the "Beta Test" demos that they had ran much smoother, and had far less errors than the release did.....)

    Any time you have to patch a program for functionality reasons...(Security is fine, because you have to close new openeings that are found.) But if it crashes every time you do something....it is still a "beta" and their "crash report" is helping them bring the OS to it's eventual matured state.

    So, I think Google is being responsible, and calling it what it is.
  • auto98, on 09/25/2008, -1/+1which product is 0.05 in beta then?
  • browe07, on 09/25/2008, -1/+1Seems like half of all software is in beta. Google just acknowledges it and doesn't charge for unfinished products.
  • arvinddeshpande, on 09/25/2008, -1/+0Google might have plans for these products so don't surprise if after 2 more years Google says "Now that GMail is out of BETA free version of it will get only 1GB of disk space. For more disk space andfeatures like IMAP, Forwarding try our GMail plus for $20 per month".
    Yahoo Mail still does the same and they are not BETA........
  • bbliss17, on 09/25/2008, -2/+2lol almost 50% of their product are in beta. lol that is funny!
  • sremick, on 09/25/2008, -0/+7It's a lot like the early web, when everyone had "This page is under construction" on their sites, often with some gimmicky pieces of animated GIF clipart.
  • CrushThemTorg, on 09/25/2008, -1/+2Because a 1.0 product is done. Complete. Therefore, so long as they're working on something, it's in beta.
    Yeah, it's stupid, but it's the best explanation I've read anywhere.
    • darkciti2, on 09/25/2008, -0/+1And when they're selling something, they have to pay taxes on revenue from it.

      If they're just experimenting with a product, I don't think it's classified the same.
  • kornolio13, on 09/25/2008, -0/+1All Internet applications are beta and in constant development and Google responsibly acknowledge that instead of announcing it as "complete product", as Microsoft does with their "products"
  • ldmyers, on 09/25/2008, -2/+1Quit your whining. Beta or not, it's free.
  • diggdatt, on 09/25/2008, -0/+1Release early and release often
    or
    Release early and iterate (as they now say)

    Don't complain, Google knows what they are doing.
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