

OS X Beta Seed Program - uptown
https://appleseed.apple.com/sp/betaprogram

======
runlevel1
Interestingly, all it takes to enroll is a shell command:

    
    
        sudo softwareupdate --set-catalog "https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.9publicseed-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog.gz"
    

I previously stumbled upon this URL via a Google Search. (Remember to use your
`robots.txt` folks!)

Aside: Seeing as how this circumvents the normal sign-up process, enrolling
this way probably does not comply with the program or software license
agreement.

~~~
stevanl
Undo command, for those wondering:

sudo /usr/sbin/softwareupdate --clear-catalog

~~~
SomeoneWeird
Does this you let downgrade too? (I'd presume not)

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sjtgraham
Hopefully these beta builds will be ineligible to write AppStore reviews or
leave ratings, especially if this is ever extended to iOS. It was quite sad
(and no doubt frustrating for developers) to see apps rated 1 star because
"GARBAGE! DOESN'T WORK IN IOS7!!!!1" before iOS was even GM.

~~~
chc
Yeah, this makes me so happy that I am not in the App Store right now. But for
the same reason, I have to assume that this will only be relatively late-stage
betas — encouraging ordinary schmoes to install known-unstable versions of
your OS is a recipe for bad PR no matter how many caveats you throw at them.

~~~
filmgirlcw
that's what I'm assuming but Apple PR hasn't responded with clarification.
Pre-release doesn't have the same stigma as some of the builds, so that's
encouraging.

I'd assume it's not just for bug testing but also user-feedback on specific
features/functions/usability issues. For instance, the 4K scaling in 10.9.3.

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0x0
This has been around since at least 2011, is there anything new now? Did they
remove the request invitation roadblock now?

Also, does anyone know how security updates are handled? Would suck to be
stuck on an unpatched beta while gotofail/heartbleed/Security Update 2014-002
type bugs are in the wild.

~~~
josso
The new part is that it doesn't require a membership to the Mac Dev Program,
but is open to everyone with a free Apple Account.

~~~
0x0
I thought appleseed never required a dev program account - but that membership
was granted semi-randomly based on applying for an invite?

~~~
filmgirlcw
It was open for certain apps like Safari and iTunes, but not OS X.

Prior to the Mac Dev program restructuring at $99 for everyone (back when you
got hardware discounts), I'm pretty sure that at least some betas were
available to non-developers, but I might be misremembering things.

~~~
0x0
According to this Ars article, the AppleSeed program for OSX has existed since
at least 2011 for non-developers (and for other apps since 2003, apparently).
It's a different program than the (paid/registered) developers betas, I think.

But I think you had to apply for an invitation, and hope to get lucky and get
picked to join.

[http://arstechnica.com/apple/2011/04/appleseed-gives-
regular...](http://arstechnica.com/apple/2011/04/appleseed-gives-regular-joes-
pre-release-access-to-mac-os-x-lion/)

~~~
madeofpalk
AppleSeed, seperate from the developer program, has traditionally been for
Apple's employers and partners, giving them early access to software and
hardware.

It's more or less an 'invite only' program where Apple will tell you (or your
employer) is allowed access.

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filmgirlcw
Mark my words, this is the first step. I predict we'll see iOS beta installs
as an option in iOS 8. Looks like buying TestFlight paid off.

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akerl_
I'm curious how serious they intend to be about the NDA-ish section:

"don’t blog, post screen shots, tweet or publicly post information about the
pre-release Apple software, and don't discuss the pre-release Apple software
with or demonstrate it to others who are not in the OS X Beta Seed Program."

~~~
itafroma
> I'm curious how serious they intend to be about the NDA-ish section

These terms are standard for all the Apple developer programs. In practice,
they have been largely unenforced due to the definition they use for
Confidential Information:

> Information that otherwise would be deemed Confidential Information but (a)
> is generally and legitimately available to the public through no fault or
> breach of yours, (b) is generally made available to the public by Apple, (c)
> is independently developed by you without the use of any Confidential
> Information, (d) was rightfully obtained from a third party who had the
> right to transfer or disclose it to you without limitation, or (e) any third
> party software and/or documentation provided to you by Apple and accompanied
> by licensing terms that do not impose confidentiality obligations on the use
> or disclosure of such software and/or documentation will not be considered
> Confidential Information under this Agreement.

Clause (a) generally protects anything interesting to talk about, because all
the rumor mill sites have full run-downs within a few hours of release. Very
rare and circumstantial cases aside[1], publishing the contents of pre-release
software on such sites has been considered well within legitimate public
interest.

[1]: The most recent case I can think of where Apple was able to go after a
rumor mill site for divulging trade secrets (and, more importantly, have it
stick) was the when they got Think Secret to shut down in a settlement related
to its leaking of the original Mac mini.

~~~
yuhong
Yea, I wish that Tim Cook would review the secrecy at Apple and look at what
part of it is really needed.

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berberous
The agreement mentions that (unless you disable it) Apple will collect various
technical data about your system. Makes sense. I'm curious, however, why that
data includes, if Location Services is enabled, "the real-time geographic
location of your computer and location search queries."

I'm not sure if there's a way to just exclude location information from the
diagnostic info, without disabling location services for all apps? I'm happy
to share information about my system configuration with them, but I'm not sure
what's so helpful about my location data.

~~~
bruceboughton
For diagnosing any bugs with Location Services, I'd presume.

It's a beta build after all...

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plorkyeran
Not enough developers using the betas and providing feedback I guess? Running
iOS betas has always seemed far more popular.

~~~
Igglyboo
It's probably because iOS betas attract a lot of non-devs. OS X market share
is pretty low compared to iOS.

~~~
berberous
I don't think it has anything to do with market share, the iOS betas attract
more users because they offer more attractive new features. For better or
worse, iOS 7 was a huge redesign and many people wanted their phone to look
"cool" early.

Trying to explain to non-techies why Mavericks is better is much harder, aside
from better battery life.

~~~
slantyyz
For me, the standout feature in Mavericks is the "Ram Doubler" feature (for
the old fogies among us who even remember what Ram Doubler was) -- lets you
get away with having less RAM.

Given that Apple now solders the RAM and charges relatively high prices for
it, the memory compression is a pretty nice feature to have.

~~~
ridgeguy
And here I thought I was the only one in these parts old enough to remember
Ram Doubler, which I do, fondly.

~~~
jason_slack
Although not RAM, but shows my age, how about Stacker?? (HD compression when I
had a 20mb HD)

~~~
slantyyz
I was such a happy camper when the Mac version of Stacker came out. That was
the one thing I envied about my DOS friends.

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lancewiggs
I joined. The OS X Update Seed offered for download is 10.9.3 (13D45a).

~~~
RyJones
That's the same seed offered on the paid side.

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newscracker
For those who've heard of the AppleSeed program and are wondering how this
Beta Seed Program is different:

1\. AppleSeed users get a separate private discussion forum and other
privileges related to bug submission and tracking.

2\. Bug reports from AppleSeed Program members are considered with a higher
importance (which means they would most likely get to the appropriate teams
with lesser filtering).

3\. AppleSeed Program members have now been asked not to sign up for this Beta
Seed Program because of the "better benefits" that they already have.

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martinesko36
Interesting. I hope this is one step closer to Apple opening up a "Beta" App
Store, where every developer can submit betas without waiting for app review.

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jevinskie
Does anyone know how this differs from the seeds already available through
developer.apple.com?

~~~
nav1
You need to be a paying OS X dev member to access the seeds on
developer.apple.com.

~~~
kbar13
I think what OP meant was if there was a difference in the content of the beta
programs.

~~~
filmgirlcw
Same seed and arguably easier to install (assuming you're using your primary
system and not a machine dedicated to betas).

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smackfu
Note that it's kind of pointless to sign up for this if you aren't currently
on your Mac, since part of the process is downloading a Beta Access Utility.

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Oculus
Any insight on how stable the pre-releases are? I'm tempted to sign-up because
updates seem very infrequent on OSX, but I'd hate to have to fight more bugs
when working.

~~~
potatolicious
Later betas are usually pretty solid. Early betas are usually absurd messes -
iOS7 beta 1 was, IMO, nearly unusable.

I wouldn't let any early Apple beta anywhere near a critical production
device.

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l_perrin
question is: does it fix the infamous kernel_task problem?

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astrange
High CPU in kernel_task means one of your CPU cores is being force-idled
because the computer is too hot or the wrong charger is being used. It's not a
bug.

(There could be bugs causing excessive CPU/GPU usage heating up the machine.
This is the kind of thing you'd want to report!)

------
Zelphyr
Anybody know how to uninstall if at some point I decide I don't want to
participate?

~~~
salzig
may the FAQ be with you.

»How do I leave the OS X Beta Seed Program? To leave the program, visit the
Leave Program page and follow the instructions to remove your Apple ID and
your computers from the OS X Beta Seed Program. This will stop pre-release
updates from appearing in the Mac App Store on your computers.« –
[https://appleseed.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/faq](https://appleseed.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/faq)

~~~
ceejayoz
That's not an uninstall.

~~~
calinet6
If you don't already know how to roll back an entire disk image or OS from a
backup, you probably shouldn't install the beta.

It won't be that different anyway. You'll get the opportunity to check for
resolved bugs, and report new ones. If that doesn't interest you, there's no
benefit.

~~~
ceejayoz
Agreed entirely, but leaving the beta program isn't the same thing as removing
the beta.

~~~
calinet6
No, it isn't.

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catfoods
This doesn't sound appealing unless it gives access to the next major point
release. I'm sure only a marginal number of people are interested in testing
10.9.x compared to 10.10

~~~
berberous
I agree, but point releases can occasionally have new features. 10.9.3
apparently enables 60 Hz 4k output on late 2013 macbook pros. 10.9.2 is
limited to 30 Hz which apparently feels very laggy.

~~~
shurcooL
Do you have a source on that? Are any other models getting 4K 60 Hz output
besides late 2013 rMBP?

~~~
berberous
Google and you'll find a bunch, but sure, here's one:

[http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/03/first-
os-x-10-9-3-beta-...](http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/03/first-
os-x-10-9-3-beta-comes-with-improved-4k-display-support/)

60 Hz 4K appears to require DisplayPort 1.2, which I believe is currently only
available on the late 2013 rMBP and the new Mac Pros.

