What does "Beta" mean? and why?

"Beta" is "β" the second letter of the Greek alphabet, after Alpha (α)."

When used to refer to software, "Beta" is short for "Beta-test" - a period where the software is technically "feature complete" - meaning no new features will be added - and presumably stable enough for most common usages to actually work. (Contrast with "Alpha Test" which happens earlier, and is often not feature complete and even more unstable.)

“By definition Beta software is not finished and is known to have bugs, perhaps even serious ones.”

There are 2 types’ of beta tests:
1) Private: via invitations only so it's limited within a group of testers.
2) Public: accessible for everyone.

In Spot Local we are following both the beta private & public tests, we conduct some beta tests with high loyal user group or business owners.


My opinion of using Beta concept is perfect as it gives always the opportunity to improve & get feedback.

but I have to state that my only concern is...

"Beta should have an expiry date, after that the software becomes automatically Alpha"