KVR Audio

lnikj · Post by **lnikj** » Mon May 20, 2019 3:37 am

In defence of the OP, he was 'invited' to become a beta tester. It's different from being a random punter wanting to get their hands on freebies.

fmr · Post by **fmr** » Mon May 20, 2019 9:59 am

lnikj wrote: ↑Mon May 20, 2019 3:37 am In defence of the OP, he was 'invited' to become a beta tester. It's different from being a random punter wanting to get their hands on freebies.

"I was invited to join the Steinberg development team as a beta tester on recommendation from an associate".

I don't know what "associate" means, but it sounds to me as a friend gave his name to Steinberg, who sent him a form to fill, with the requirements.

He doesn't fulfill the requirements, so he is out. End of story. The requirements, BTW, are basically the same for every other company in the industry. And he is even out of Steinberg at the moment, so I don't understand what kind of added value would he give to the program or why he would want to do it in the first place (except for the fact of getting freebies).

For the record - I do betatest for several companies, but not for Steinberg, nor do I have any affiliation to Steinberg besides being a (paying) user.

Kongru · Post by **Kongru** » Mon May 20, 2019 10:36 am

If you don't have the most up to date Cubase version, why would you care about beta features?

The beta version would build on the features and bug fixes of the most up to date version, which you wouldn't have been subjected to.

The beta invites are obviously meant for people who use Cubase on a regular basis and keep up to date.

Spencer Maddox · Post by **Spencer Maddox** » Mon May 20, 2019 12:53 pm

The Sheer Entitlement in this Post is Horrifically Toxic.

Fender19 · Post by **Fender19** » Mon May 20, 2019 5:47 pm

BONES wrote: ↑Mon May 20, 2019 2:30 am
Fender19 wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2019 4:13 pmHow much time do you think it would take to go through every feature and function in such a program? Do you think all that time should be donated to Steinberg for ZERO compensation - no discount version, no NFR version, nothing?
Yes, I do. I have beta tested software for some of the biggest software companies out there, like Autodesk and Microsoft, and I never got anything from it, except access to new features before everyone else. I still paid for my upgrades as betas were always time-limited. I did it because I wanted to do it not because I expected to get anything out of it.

Paying for the product you are beta testing while donating your time to test it must put you in high demand. I have another name for it.

BONES wrote: ↑Mon May 20, 2019 2:30 am Sounds to me like Steinberg dodged a bullet here.

No, I did.

frizzbee · Post by **frizzbee** » Mon May 20, 2019 6:03 pm

glad they did it like that. now kiddies like you have something to be upset about while adults continue minding their business. i ask myself why you turned your back on them in the first place when you out of the sudden decided yoiu like cubase again and want to be a beta tester now. could there be a connection with your other thread where you wondered how to debug and you'd like to debug with cubase!?

smells like free fish. now go on with your rant

el-bo (formerly ebow) · Mon May 20, 2019 6:04 pm

Fender19 wrote: ↑Mon May 20, 2019 5:47 pmPaying for the product you are beta testing while donating your time to test it

So many responses and you still have it twisted. Nobody expects you to pay to beta-test. Rather, Steinberg expects that someone interested in beta-testing will already be a user.

Not only have you already jumped ship, but you don't understand what might compel a user to help to make the software they rely on, better, while also having the captive ear of the developers.

You are clearly not the guy for the task

Vertion · Post by **Vertion** » Mon May 20, 2019 9:44 pm

The Sawyer Effect mixes very well with cognitive dissonance. This thread is a wonderful example. It is concerning how much it overlaps with Stockholm Syndrome in regards to the cognitive dissonance aspect.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Tue May 21, 2019 12:14 am

Fender19 wrote: ↑Mon May 20, 2019 5:47 pmPaying for the product you are beta testing while donating your time to test it must put you in high demand.

The thing is, I am not so full of myself to think that I'd be able to test a product I didn't own, so I wouldn't even ask to be on the team unless I already had the product. As el-bo points out, the benefit to me is having greater input into the development of a product I rely on every day. It is actually something I might even be willing to pay to do, if those kinds of rewards were great enough, sort of like paying for the "meet & greet" package at a concert..

You have to remember, too, that you aren't testing the version you own, you are testing the next version, which Steinberg give to you free of charge. To expect you to be up to date before you start testing seems like the most obvious stipulation imaginable.

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Tue May 21, 2019 2:33 am

Real beta testing is hard and is a job. It should probably be illegal to expect actual beta testing for no pay.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Tue May 21, 2019 5:10 am

Maybe for internal testing but for real world users, just using the software should be enough. Sure, some people takeout more seriously than that but others don't.

perfumer · Post by **perfumer** » Tue May 21, 2019 5:48 am

zerocrossing wrote: ↑Tue May 21, 2019 2:33 am Real beta testing is hard and is a job. It should probably be illegal to expect actual beta testing for no pay.

There's real beta testing that is a job (probably done at Steinberg's offices, or at affiliates) - and then there's freelance volunteer work, which is the OPs case, which he'd be doing at home, without any control from Steinberg as to the quality of his work, or if he's doing anything at all.

He claims he's been a user for 20 years, but judging from his posts - I find that claim rather dubious.

And soon after he dropped using it, he thought "hey, maybe I should beta test for them?"

Oh but they don't give a free copy, so f**k you, Steinberg!!!

medienhexer · Post by **medienhexer** » Tue May 21, 2019 6:05 am

Usually, it’s much more efficient to have a small but dedicated group of experienced users who are also experienced testers in general.

So many companies have internal beta phases before they make public betas available to the general public (if at all). In my experience, more than 80% of the issues are found by a small group of beta testers. The rest often times only shows up for very specific combinations of hard- and software.

And public betas are very time consuming because you have to filter out the unqualified feedback of a large group who you don’t have a working relationship with. Open beta testers often times don’t understand that at this point, it’s all about finding bugs for the release, not about reprioritizing features they think are more important than the ones which are included in the beta. Or completely change how new features are implemented just because in their specific context with their specific preferences, they can think of alternatives.

Beta testing is pretty demanding for everyone involved and you need to establish an atmosphere of trust. One bad apple taking feedback personal or starting riots over minor details can spoil the entire group.

So usually, companies have to filter for the most dedicated, objective and qualified testers for internal betas. And rewards are only given to those who prove themselves during the beta afterwards. Meanwhile, less qualified testers may be dropped from internal betas at any point.

So you‘ve just filtered yourself out of the process. Doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. Just means you’re not a fit for the testing group. And I don’t think it reflects badly on Steinberg, either. I‘d say whoever runs the beta testing knows what they’re doing. Which should be good news for customers.

quikquak · Post by **quikquak** » Tue May 21, 2019 6:44 am

It’s up to them who to choose, and a Cubase owner is probably the best person to test a next version. Yes, there’s a possibility that they test the things they are used to doing, it’s not a perfect system. But that’s why you lists of things to test and known bugs to re-test. It’s a laborious job, being in QA. We used to have many in the gaming industry, they were always young and very keen to get into the ‘factory.’ Not cynical old gits (over 30).

Aloysius · Post by **Aloysius** » Tue May 21, 2019 7:05 am

The arrogance of Steinberg not inviting ME to join their development team. Who the FU*K do they think they are?

The arrogance of Steinberg!