Difference between revisions of "Beta Tester Page/Becoming a Beta Tester"

Latest revision as of 21:19, 21 December 2022

Who can be a beta tester?

You can become a beta-tester of Analytica or ADE with an active Analytica (or ADE) subscription.

To be a beta tester of Analytica 6.3, you will also need to have Analytica already installed on your computer with a subscription license. (Sorry, not the Analytica Free Edition). And, you must have an internet connection that allows the Analytica installer and the AnalyticaUpdateCheck.exe process to communicate with the AnalyticaOnline.com server. Please note that if you have a firewall, you might need to re-configure it to allow this communication (all on port 80).

Why become a beta tester?

Test drive the next upcoming release of Analytica early at no cost.
Take advantage of the new features immediately.
Help improve the final release.
Ensure that your model works in the new release, letting us know of issues while they can still be fixed, ensuring a seamless transition for you and your model users when the next release becomes available.
Participate in webinars on tips and guides on new features.

How to start beta-testing

Just download the installer and run it. In almost all cases, if you are eligible to be a beta tester, the installer can figure this out and obtain the required licenses.

For the installer to acquire the beta license, the following should hold:

Your computer already has an activated Analytica 6.2 license installed.
You have an active Analytica subscription.
Your computer has an internet connection.

If you have an active subscription, but the installer is unable to acquire a license, then send us an email with the details: support@lumina.com.

Responsibilities as a beta tester

We expect beta testers to:

Sign up as a beta tester (by filling in the form when you run the installer).
Keep up-to-date by installing the latest beta build. You should receive alerts through Analytica when new builds are ready, and we may also send you email reminders when they become available. New builds will become available on average each 2 weeks.
When you encounter an issue, submit a bug report.
Read through What's new in Analytica 6.3? so you know what new features are available.
Explore new Analytica enhancements of interest to you.
Revisit the Analytica Wiki periodically. We will be updating and adding to content here throughout the beta period.

Contributing documention on the Analytica wiki

During early beta testing, the manuals and other information on the Analytica Wiki might not be fully updated to reflect new enhancements. During the beta period, we will also be adding and modifying content. The What's new in Analytica 6.3? is the most complete listing of new features, but is itself still a work in progress. As we approach final release date, the information on the Wiki will be more complete.

As an Analytica user, you are invited to contribute to the documentation! Since it's on a wiki (using Mediawiki software, just like Wikipedia), you can add or edit any content. And others can edit or improve your additions. If you find text that is unclear or downright errors, feel free to fix them yourself. Or add comments, asking someone else to. If you find stubs or missing information, feel free to fill them in yourself, or add requests. Or if you come up with tips or interesting examples on how to use a feature, those also will be welcome.

This is a new experiment in the community development of user documentation. At Lumina, we know how important it is to have good User Guides and other documentation. But our resources are limited. We know that there are many highly knowledgeable Analytica users who may know more than us about ways to use particular features. And people seeing new features for the first time are better able to see holes or unclarities than we are. Together the community of users should be able to create better documentation than any single documentation writer. We look forward to your contributions!

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-= Who can be a beta tester? =
+[[Category: Beta testing]]
-You can become a beta-tester of Analytica or ADE 4.2 if your Analytica support/maintenance is current.  If you are the registered end-user of an Analytica license purchsed in the previous 12 months, then your support is automatically current.  If your license was purchased more than 12 months ago, then your annual support renewal needs to be current.
+{{#svarset:betarelease|6.3}}
+{{#svarset:prevrelease|6.2}}
-As of early April 2009, we've invited only a small number of selected users to be beta testers.  We plan to extend this invitation as the initial glitches of the beta-testing process are ironed out.  If you are very eager to get started as a 4.2 beta tester, just let us know by sending email to sales@lumina.com.  ADE 4.2 is not yet available for beta testing, but will become available for a beta-testing period prior to the final 4.2 release.
+== Who can be a beta tester? ==
-Generally we will match the beta-edition to the edition you are currently using.  For example, if you currently have a license for Analytica 4.1 Professional, then we'll provide you with an Analytica 4.2 Professional edition.  With 4.2, it is possible to install multiple licenses, so let us know if you'd like to beta test multiple editions.
+You can become a beta-tester of [[Analytica {{#svarget:betarelease}}|Analytica or ADE]] with an active Analytica (or ADE) subscription.
-Our full beta-testing period will probably last at least a couple months.
+To be a beta tester of [[Analytica {{#svarget:betarelease}}]], you will also need to have Analytica already installed on your computer with a subscription license.  (Sorry, not the [[Analytica Free Edition]]). And, you must have an internet connection that allows the Analytica installer and the AnalyticaUpdateCheck.exe process to communicate with the AnalyticaOnline.com server. Please note that if you have a firewall, you might need to re-configure it to allow this communication (all on port 80).
-= Why become a beta tester? =
+<!-- You can also become a beta tester of the [[Analytica Free Edition]] even if you currently have no Analytica license.  -->
-* Test drive Analytica 4.2 early at no cost.
+== Why become a beta tester? ==
-* Take advantage of the many new 4.2 features immediately.
+* Test drive the next upcoming release of Analytica early at no cost.
+* Take advantage of the [[Analytica {{#svarget:betarelease}}|new features]] immediately.
 * Help improve the final release.
-* Participate in webinars on tips and guides on 4.2 features.
+* Ensure that your model works in the new release, letting us know of issues while they can still be fixed, ensuring a seamless transition for you and your model users when the next release becomes available.
+* Participate in webinars on tips and guides on new features.
+== How to start beta-testing ==
-= How to sign up to be a beta tester =
+Just [[Beta_Tester_Page#How to start beta-testing|download the installer]] and run it.  In almost all cases, if you are eligible to be a beta tester, the installer can figure this out and obtain the required licenses.
-If you are a current Analytica-end user with active support, and would like to be an early tester, please email us (support@lumina.com) and provide the following information:
+For the installer to acquire the beta license, the following should hold:
-* Who you are, and if possible, your 4.1 license code.
+* Your computer already has an activated Analytica {{#svarget:prevrelease}} license installed.
-* Desired platform:  32-bit or 64-bit.
+* You have an active Analytica subscription.
-::''Note: To use Analytica 64-bit, you must be running a 64-bit Windows operating system.''
+* Your computer has an internet connection.
-* License type:  Individual, named-user, or floating.  The named-user and floating licenses are managed by a Reprise License Manager server (RLM), and require the installation of RLM also.
-Feel free to test drive floating or managed named-user licenses.  Both are new to 4.2, so we'd like to see these tested.
+If you have an active subscription, but the installer is unable to acquire a license, then send us an email with the details: [mailto:support@lumina.com support@lumina.com].
-= Responsibilities as a beta tester =
+== Responsibilities as a beta tester ==
 We expect beta testers to:
-* Sign up as a beta tester.
+* Sign up as a beta tester (by filling in the form when you run the installer).
-* Keep up-to-date by installing the latest beta build.  You should receive alerts through Analytica when new builds are ready, and we may also send you email reminders when they become available.  New builds will become available each 1 or 2 weeks.
+* Keep up-to-date by installing the latest beta build.  You should receive alerts through Analytica when new builds are ready, and we may also send you email reminders when they become available.  New builds will become available on average each 2 weeks.
-* When you encounter an issue, submit a bug report as described in the next sub-section.
+* When you encounter an issue, [[Beta_Tester_Page/Submitting_a_Bug_Report|submit a bug report.]]
-* Read through [[What's new in Analytica 4.2?]] so you know what new features are available.
+* Read through [[What's new in Analytica {{#svarget:betarelease}}?]] so you know what new features are available.
-* Explore new Analytica 4.2 enhancements of interest to you.
+* Explore new Analytica enhancements of interest to you.
 * Revisit the Analytica Wiki periodically.  We will be updating and adding to content here throughout the beta period.
-= Contributing 4.2 documention on the Analytica wiki =
+== Contributing documention on the Analytica wiki ==
-During early beta testing, the Analytica Wiki will remain the only place to find material on new features in Analytica 4.2.  Updates to the PDF manuals will occur throughout the beta period, but in general we refine new material on the Wiki prior to incorporating it into the manuals, so the manuals will lag.
+During early beta testing, the manuals and other information on the Analytica Wiki might not be fully updated to reflect new enhancements. During the beta period, we will also be adding and modifying content. The [[What's new in Analytica {{#svarget:betarelease}}?]] is the most complete listing of new features, but is itself still a work in progress. As we approach final release date, the information on the Wiki will be more complete.
 As an Analytica user, you are invited to contribute to the documentation! Since it's on a wiki (using Mediawiki software, just like Wikipedia), you can add or edit any content.  And others can edit or improve your additions.  If you find text that is unclear or downright errors, feel free to fix them yourself. Or add comments, asking someone else to. If you find stubs or missing information, feel free to fill them in yourself, or add requests. Or if you come up with tips or interesting examples on how to use a feature, those also will be welcome.
-This is a new experiment in the community development of user documentation. At Lumina, we know how important it is to have good User Guides and other documentation. But our resources are limited. We know that there are many highly knowledgeable Analytica users who may know more than us about ways to use particular features. And people seeing new features for the first time are better able to see holes or unclarities than we are. Together the community of users should be able to create better documentation than any single documentation writer.  We look forward to your contributions!
+This is a new experiment in the community development of user documentation. At [https://lumina.com Lumina], we know how important it is to have good User Guides and other documentation. But our resources are limited. We know that there are many highly knowledgeable Analytica users who may know more than us about ways to use particular features. And people seeing new features for the first time are better able to see holes or unclarities than we are. Together the community of users should be able to create better documentation than any single documentation writer.  We look forward to your contributions!