Something to consider for AOO 4.1 is the value of a broad public beta program to solicit early feedback on builds. This could be a good complement to our formal QA efforts.
A beta program could be set up like this: 1) After feature freeze, and after smoke tests pass on the 3 major platforms, we have a build that has the new code, and doesn't have any known horrible defects. 2) Immediately create a special Release Candidate for the beta, English only, or maybe a combination install with 5 major languages. 3) Vote on the release of the beta via the normal 72-hour PMC vote. Focus on the formal release checks around license, notice, etc. 4) Distribute via SourceForge and/or Apache mirrors. No need to preserve older betas. We'd only keep the most recent one. I just want to make sure that we're all aware this option is available. We can do something that gives wider public exposure than a dev snapshot build, but is less than a final version. The key thing is to meet the formal requirements of an Apache release, but set user expectations that it is a beta. Regards, -Rob -- Opinions expressed in this communication reflect the author's individual personal view, not necessarily that of an amorphous collective. The above statements do not reflect an official position of any organization, corporation, religion (organized or disorganized) or national football association. The contents of said note are not guaranteed to have been spell checked, grammar checked or reviewed for metrical infelicities. The contents of this post may not be suitable for those whose native language is not logic. Caution should be exercised when operating heavy machinery when reading this note, or even when not reading it. Seriously, heavy machinery is dangerous. Be careful. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscr...@openoffice.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: dev-h...@openoffice.apache.org
