You'll get at least a dozen different interpetations I'm sure, so I'll just give mine. When I was programming ( about a decade ago), programs were a lot smaller. The goal was to make them bullet proof. Beta was used to do just that. To find errors not apparent during the initial debugging or design phase. When you're putting together a program, tunnel vision is a big problem so you turn it loose on fresh eyes and have them knock it around.
Now thats all changed and one of the reasons is programs have become so large that accountants couldn't resist the urge *creatively* expense the development stage. In all fairness, they had to because the development time has increased with program size. Some of this cost is passed off to the consumer, not just in the price of the program, but by releasing beta programs as finished. The program is then finished after market with patches, and development time is hidden as program maintenance. The key here is delelopment cost are incurred BEFORE they get your money. Maintenance cost is incurred AFTER they get your money. Considering the time value of money, it makes sense to push as much "before" to "after" as possible.
All this means is most newly released programs are inferior to what they were a decade ago, most beta stage programs are inferior to what they were a decade ago, and the sole reason is to cut development time.
Now to dispel any conspiracy theories
, I don't think HTC is listed on NASDAQ, so there is no reason to creatively expense anything.- especially since ethey don't even charge for the program. I think its just taken for granted that programs in beta are unfininished, an exampled provided by the companies who are listed on NASDAQ.
I read somewhere, HTC's mision statement or the like. It stated it had no aspirations to be a large company, but a very good small company. You gota love that philosophy in this Microsoft world.
I'm sure you'll get many other takes on it.
