We Got Served

Charlie Kindel discusses a recent Computerworld article regarding the number of bugs that have been fixed still exist in Windows Home Server Beta 2. The numbers quoted are taken from a recent blog post on the Windows Home Server Team blog.

It’s a shame that writers such as the Computerworld journalist in question believes sensationalising “Beta Product in Bugs Shocker” to a (I assume) technical audience gives him or his publication any real credibility. Of course it has bugs, that’s why it’s in Beta.

I discussed the original post as I thought it was great encouragement from the team to the fledgling WHS Community that our bugs were being received, being worked on, and most of all, valued - I for one would like to thank Chris for his post and encourage the team to continue posting stats to keep everyone motivated and engaged. If not on the blog, then via Connect, or other communication channels.

Sometimes, for the individual tester, submitting a few bugs here and there, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture and see the size and scale of the community effort, and importantly, the size of the task for the development team. These kind of stats really help testers roll up their sleeves and get stuck into to finding more. Given the kicking I know the product’s getting from a bunch of ex-Vista testers, I know MS will have their work cut out, but will make for a pretty bulletproof product at launch.

So, here’s to transparency, to celebrating our weaknesses, and using the power of the community to turn them into strengths!