News from Mackie on international upgrade path inc. plugs!

[ModuLR]

maybe if I asked Jules nicely he could arrange a special version for headquest, with all the bugs I found put back in..?

I agree...

[audiobot202]

If they had done a thorough beta test for T2 a lot of the issues that have pissed people off could have been spotted sooner and hopefully resolved. The limited testing done by the select group clearly didn't work well enough.

sorry but this is just plain rude mate ... you have NO idea how much time and / or effort any of us have invested in the testing program nor how big / small the beta team actually was (neither do i TBH) ...

... you MIGHT in some specific cases possibly be justified in saying the testing program had some holes in it but to say we only did "limited" testing is just wrong ...

slainte rob

If Mackie want to pee in the grass with the big dogs, they need to hire some coders. I'm sure you've done plenty of beta testing and bug spotting guys, but get real. Want to make Tracktion big? Then wake up and smell the coffee ! You can use any excuse you like, but the fact remains that customer perception is everything. They're not concerned about how many man hours you put into a bugfix, they just want it to work.
Stop being so precious.

[audiobot202]

maybe if I asked Jules nicely he could arrange a special version for headquest, with all the bugs I found put back in..?

I agree...

Smarmy.

There's always two sides to an argument.

[Lunch Money]

Of course. But headquest knows very well that there's a specific team of beta-testers who are regulars on this forum. Instead of the way he approached his complaint, he could have approached it with more tact and care for the individuals who he knew he was addressing.

Myself, I don't feel slighted, even though I'm part of that team. Why? Just because I'm tired, oh so tired.

I've said it for at least the last half a year. People will always find something to complain about, whether it's a legitimate complaint, a reactionary one, or one designed with the intention of pushing someone's buttons.

It's been old for a long time already.

Greg

[audiobot202]

Of course. But headquest knows very well that there's a specific team of beta-testers who are regulars on this forum. Instead of the way he approached his complaint, he could have approached it with more tact and care for the individuals who he knew he was addressing.

Myself, I don't feel slighted, even though I'm part of that team. Why? Just because I'm tired, oh so tired.

I've said it for at least the last half a year. People will always find something to complain about, whether it's a legitimate complaint, a reactionary one, or one designed with the intention of pushing someone's buttons.

It's been old for a long time already.

Greg

Why are you bothering to post then?
Beta Testng is a thankless task, like so many jobs. This is about the distribution of Tracktion, the possible inefficiences of that process and customer perception. Beta Testers don't feature highly in the priorties of customers. If Mackie don't have enough coders on side, they need to hire them. There are plenty about. If they are struggling with International laws and regulations, they only have themselves to blame.
I don't actually care for the details. I'm a customer and as a customer I expect a certain level of participation and support from the company. They've had plenty of time.

[ModuLR]

If Mackie want to pee in the grass with the big dogs, they need to hire some coders. I'm sure you've done plenty of beta testing and bug spotting guys, but get real. Want to make Tracktion big? Then wake up and smell the coffee ! You can use any excuse you like, but the fact remains that customer perception is everything. They're not concerned about how many man hours you put into a bugfix, they just want it to work.
Stop being so precious.

I have intentionaly stayed clear of this conversation as a whole because like LM, I'm just tired of it all. However, if you'll take notice... my comments to headquest were to address a false assumption. No beta tester is asking for thanks.

Tracktion will find it's own path. I'm not concerned with whether it "pees in the grass with the big dogs." In it's present form, it's more than usable for most people. If you fall on that fringe, then that is unfortunate for you...

[audiobot202]

I don't think Mackie are too worried about whether you want it to remain a small dog or not. The intention is clear that they wish it to be a big thing. Everything outside the US is fringe as far as distro is concerned I think !! So, yes, in that sense, I live on the fringe.

[Lunch Money]

Why are you bothering to post then?

As far as I can tell, for the same reason you have bothered.

Greg

[ModuLR]

and as I said, that is unfortunate... Mackie will learn from their experiences. However, this point has been made again and again and again. So really, how many times is it necessary to repeat that same thing over and over again? 3? 16? 99? 200? 3874? 1024^23?

beyond that, I wasn't even debating distribution. I specifically targeted a comment made by Headquest.

[audiobot202]

This is a forum. Go figure.

[Lunch Money]

Why are you bothering to post then?

This is a forum. Go figure.

By jove, I think he's got it, though he wasn't necessarily meaning to address his own point.

Greg

[ModuLR]

Yes! and if it delights you walk in circles then by all means have at it... btw, circles lead no where.

[headquest]

Stop being so precious.

Yes, that's it - they're being precious

And as so often seems to happen here, they are drawing a completely different meaning from what I wrote than the meaning I intended...

As I understand it the purpose of a beta test is to get as many people as possible to test whether the software works on their various set-ups, and report back any incompatibilities so that a professional team of boffins can solve the issues prior to release.

When I described the Tracktion beta test as "limited" I meant in terms of scope, and NOT in terms of the expertise or efforts of the few who were involved.

As an example, when I reported compatibility problems between T2 demo and Reason 2.5 (which, to be honest, were already there in T1.6 and should have been known and sorted anyway ), the beta group had to scramble around to see who if any of them even had Reason to verify the issue.

To my mind, that is not a very professional way for a company with Mackie's reputation to conduct its business, but like I said above, I do not blame any individual beta tester for that in any way. I'm sure they all did the best they could.

[headquest]

So I s'pose when you discover a bug like this...

...then I'd report it to the professional team of coders.

The problem might be system specific (as most of mine apparently were... until other people started reporting the same problems), but by allowing me to test the software on my system the problem could be recognised and dealt with... and it might not be immediately spotted elsewhere.

For an example, check out the Ableton forum. The beta of Live 5 started just three days ago, but already the 500 of us taking part have mostly reported minor issues, which Ableton will now address (watch and see!). Go see for yourself the thousands of posts made there in the past three days!

In part because of this approach, and the excellent attitude of the Ableton developers in general (Richard Hanke isn't "too busy" or "too big" to join in chats on the forum ) , I suspect that Live 5 will be a very big seller.

[headquest]

maybe if I asked Jules nicely he could arrange a special version for headquest, with all the bugs I found put back in..?

Thanks for the offer mate, but the version I paid for has quite enough bugs in it already, thanks!