Why is Gmail still called a "beta"?

[Papa Deuce]

I'm guessing there is some monetary reason. I mean it has been functional for 2 years now.

 

[bicker]

Beta communicates that there is no reasonable expectation of functionality.

 

[grimley1968]

I use a lot of Google products: Gmail, Spreadsheets, Calendar, their personalized web portal page, among a bunch of other stuff. Of these, Gmail, Spreadsheets and Calendar are still listed as beta. I love all these products, but my read on it is that they are calling it beta to avoid the expectation of support on the products, rather than functionality. All these products have user group message boards about as active as the DIS which have answered all the questions I've ever had about them.

I sort of like the beta period in most of these apps. Every one of them has evolved from products which offer niche services (like Gmail's 2 GB of space and labeling instead of folders), to quite full featured offerings. Calendar, for instance, even though still in beta, barely resembles how it started. Calendar, for me, does everything I really need that I used to rely on Outlook for (email reminders, sharing, integration with Gmail, Contacts & Google maps, etc.).

I just wish I had had the foresight to buy Google stock long ago.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Beta communicates that there is no reasonable expectation of functionality.

Well, yeah, except it has been working fine for 2 years....

 

[Imzadi]

I can't stand that you can't copy stuff you have written with a right mouse click. You can scroll & highlight with the mouse, even delete with the mouse, but if you want to copy the info, you have to switch over to the keyboard to do "CTRL C" then switch back to the mouse to move the cursor to the right place to paste.

I also hate how when Composing an email, the font is set at small instead of normal. If it's normal, why not normally use this font?

Also, their spell check does not catch beginning of sentences not capitalized, it when i should be capital I.

I hope they change these before coming out of beta.

 

[bicker]

Well, yeah, except it has been working fine for 2 years....

Just don't complain if that doesn't continue to be the case -- that something goes wrong.

 

[NJBlackBerry]

No need (or desire) to support it. "It's still in Beta".