Monday, September 12, 2005

I'm not testing that.

Know what you're getting yourself into.
by AC -
permalink

As much as I like to help out the Mozilla Foundation by beta-testing their new releases, I've just had too many problems with Deer Park to install Firefox 1.5 beta 1. More than 5,000 bugs have already been squashed in this branch, and it looks like there are still some impressive ones hanging around. Thunderbird 1.5 beta 1 hasn't had as many problems, and I'll probably test the second beta.

I worry sometimes about the distribution of pre-final Firefox builds. I noticed that the candidate builds for 1.5 beta 1 were posted at the BetaNews FileForum. Unless you're actively involved in bug-squashing for Mozilla, keep in mind that you should steer clear of anything called a release candidate, a pre-beta, or an alpha. Mozilla final releases are as thoroughly vetted and tested as any software anywhere, and you should stick with those unless you're aware of the risks inherent to beta-testing.

Anyway. I finally got around to picking up a copy of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon this weekend. I've never actually owned my own copy, and I've been meaning to finally get one since seeing them on perform for Live 8 from London. They were as good as they've ever been, which is astonishing. I also grabbed a two-disc compilation of Pearl Jam b-sides called Lost Dogs. All I really wanted was "Last Kiss" and "Hard to Imagine," and now I've got those plus 28 other slightly obscure, somewhat esoteric songs. "Bee Girl" is just plain weird. And "Sweet Lew" is about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. If you're wondering why Pearl Jam recorded a song about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, so am I. Can't imagine why it never made it onto an album.

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