{"id":5406,"date":"2014-04-25T10:00:02","date_gmt":"2014-04-25T14:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=5406"},"modified":"2014-04-25T10:00:02","modified_gmt":"2014-04-25T14:00:02","slug":"apple-goes-the-microsoft-route-offers-open-beta-of-os-x-updates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/04\/25\/apple-goes-the-microsoft-route-offers-open-beta-of-os-x-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple goes the Microsoft route, offers open beta of OS X updates"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Apple is now allowing any user of OS X to access the beta builds of the operating system, with a new program that is available to everyone and not restricted to developers. And unlike the developer program, access to the beta builds of OS X is free; the developer program will set you back $99.<\/p>\n

If you’re thinking early access to OS updates sounds familiar, you would be correct, as Microsoft has been doing this for years with its \u2018Preview\u2019 programs. But while it may appear that Apple copied Microsoft\u2019s techniques for beta testing software, these two companies are, of course, not the only ones who participate in this open practice.<\/p>\n

To sign up for the program, you can check out the link here and be prepared to tell Apple a few bits about yourself to complete the process.<\/p>\n

When it comes to installing beta software, even if it is from official sources, it\u2019s perhaps best to not do this on your main machine, as there remains a chance that the software may not be perfect.<\/p>\n

The reasoning for Apple to open up this process is quite simple: with more users testing updates, this provides a larger sample pool, improving the likelihood of finding issues before the final version of the software is pushed out to all users. It\u2019s a quality control maneuver and it\u2019s hard to fault any company that wants to improve its software.<\/p>\n

For now, the program is only open to OS X users, while iOS access still requires a developer account. Apple may be testing the waters with OS X and if all goes well, it could open up the service to iOS users in the near future.<\/p>\n

via Apple goes the Microsoft route, offers open beta of OS X updates – Neowin<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apple is now allowing any user of OS X to access the beta builds of the operating system, with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,9],"tags":[125,786],"class_list":["post-5406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apple","category-software","tag-beta","tag-osx"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-1pc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6106,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/07\/30\/13-things-os-x-yosemite-beta-testers-need-to-know\/","url_meta":{"origin":5406,"position":0},"title":"13 things OS X Yosemite beta testers need to know","author":"NCCT","date":"July 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"For the first time since the OS X beta test of 2000, Apple is allowing Mac users to test and provide feedback on a prerelease version of OS X. 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But while iPhone users who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apple"","block_context":{"text":"Apple","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/apple\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3220,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2013\/08\/20\/modern-ui-firefox-browser-for-windows-8-to-leave-beta-on-december-10th\/","url_meta":{"origin":5406,"position":2},"title":"Modern UI Firefox browser for Windows 8 to leave beta on December 10th","author":"NCCT","date":"August 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been a long wait for Windows 8 users of Mozilla's Firefox browser, but there is now light at the end of the tunnel for those people who have been waiting for the \"Modern\" UI version to be released as a non-beta build. This week, Mozilla's development calendar page was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Software"","block_context":{"text":"Software","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/software\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5757,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/06\/13\/dailytech-apple-reveals-os-x-yosemite-gives-it-a-fresh-coat-of-paint\/","url_meta":{"origin":5406,"position":3},"title":"DailyTech – Apple Reveals OS X “Yosemite”, Gives it a Fresh Coat of Paint","author":"NCCT","date":"June 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Apple's PC operating system gets an iOS 7-style makeover OS X is Apple\u2019s premiere desktop operating system, and it\u2019s getting a big update with OS X 10.10 \u201cYosemite\u201d. The \u201cflat\u201d user interface that was first introduced with iOS 7 has been deftly transferred to OS X. 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