Have you ever noticed that many google servies, like most or all of the google apps including Gmail and Google Docs, are “Beta”?
Well, not any more:
Like many software products, Google’s Gmail service was first released with a “beta” label on it. In the software industry, a product that is in beta is still in its testing phase. Beta versions, which are sandwiched between internal “alpha” versions and final “release” versions, typically have a lifespan of weeks or perhaps months. But Gmail was different. Released on April 1, 2004, it was still in beta five years and tens of millions of users later.
That is changing Tuesday. Gmail is finally shedding the beta label, signaling that Google considers the product to be fully baked. Google is also taking three other applications — Calendar, Docs and Talk — out of beta.
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I’m not sure Docs is ready to be taken out of beta quite yet, but hey, it’s a hell of a lot more polished than any Microsoft product’s paid-for 1.0. About time Gmail got the nod — about four years too soon, if you ask me.
D’oh. 4 years too LATE.
Finally! I’ve been using gmail for so long because there hasn’t been a better email service! It’s so nice to hear that it is free of it’s beta label!