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[summerstormpictures]

Okay, this is really becoming silly and unprofessional. There seems to be no organization, rhyme or reason to this firmware development system. It's a real mess and very confusing. We've got all sorts of betas and non-betas, duplicate betas and non-betas, re-released betas and non-betas and so on.  It's so confusing now that I don't even know which firmware is the ''official'' D-Link approved version to use anymore--or for which product.

Who the heck is running the shop there?

Am I the only one here who feels this way?

We need to hear something definitive directly from someone representing D-Link (that means no snide remarks from the ''usual suspects'' and you know who you are). You don't represent D-Link in any official capacity. Let's hear from someone at D-Link with direct accountability.

This has gone on long enough. It really has. Any confidence I ever had is gone and most likely I will never purchase a new D-Link product again. Unfortunately I am stuck with this white box with blue blinky lights that might make a nice Christmas decoration.

[davevt31]

You are under no obligation to use a Beta.  Just go to the main support site and use the latest official release. 

http://support.dlink.com/products/view.asp?productid=DIR%2D655


Many of us have said in the past that we are willing to try out the betas to help them inprove their release code, thats why they have been releasing them.

[dougg]

if I go to the firmware  page it seems pretty clear what is the latest release (1.21).   I always go by the latest date.   There are 2 versions 1 with securespot 1 without.   I dont think I need secure spot so Im glad they made an option without.  I very seldom do betas on things so I dont know what the status is there.

[EddieZ]

Okay, this is really becoming silly and unprofessional. There seems to be no organization, rhyme or reason to this firmware development system. It's a real mess and very confusing. We've got all sorts of betas and non-betas, duplicate betas and non-betas, re-released betas and non-betas and so on.  It's so confusing now that I don't even know which firmware is the ''official'' D-Link approved version to use anymore--or for which product.

Who the heck is running the shop there?

Am I the only one here who feels this way?

The release management and QA procedures do not excel at Dlink development. BUT....being in a beta program can be somewhat hectic. If you criticize the process, you should also know that. If you want no hassle, just use the official builds on the website.

We need to hear something definitive directly from someone representing D-Link (that means no snide remarks from the ''usual suspects'' and you know who you are). You don't represent D-Link in any official capacity. Let's hear from someone at D-Link with direct accountability.

What do you want to know? Being a beta user means you're a guinea pig  . Nothing more. You will find the results in the next official firmware. The Dlink mods respond to the best of their knowledge, there simply is no direct line with development. Which does not bother me, probably being (one of) the usual suspect(s). At least I do not have any pretence as to my status as a beta user (watch me avoiding the word 'tester').

This has gone on long enough. It really has. Any confidence I ever had is gone and most likely I will never purchase a new D-Link product again. Unfortunately I am stuck with this white box with blue blinky lights that might make a nice Christmas decoration.[/b]

I'm the harsh guy on the board. So let me pull out an 'EddieZ' once again:
Quit using beta firmware, avoid the Beta section and stick to the official releases. Just be a standard user, as you don't seem to have what it takes to be a beta user. (Dealing with bugs, errors, incertainty, problem solving capablities and so on) 

[bananaman]

Yes. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!

[Lycan]

http://www.support.dlink.com is the your portal for official firmware releases. There's also a  button within the routers UI that will allow you to check which is the latest official release. I suggest that you use those firmwares and NOTHING from these forums.

As it's been previously stated, I post beta code to get community feed back from end users before an official release to avoid problems in the final release version. This is a pretty common practice.

We were at one time offering beta drivers for our adapters and Vista ( when it first hit) on the support site, but now this is our vehicle for beta releases.

As for accountability, what seems to be the issue? Are you having a problem with your product, because the only posts of your I remember seeing are the ones complaining about the beta firmwares on the forums. 

If so start a thread with your specific issue, or link to an already started thread and I'll be happy to comment on it.

[davevt31]

Is it just me or is Lycan's signature getting bigger...

[Lycan]

LOL, I'll get it under control. One of these days.

[Wal_]

LOL, I'll get it under control. One of these days.

ooooh, sexy sig, im taking it. However, I will rep the PC area of it, not the over rated Hasbro toy.

[kd2pm]

I think the phrases "buyer beware" and "use at own risk" are proper.  Lets also remember that this is NOT alpha firmware, its beta.  Its up to the users to provide the feedback.  I would expect alot of issue in an alpha and probably something D-Link would prefer not to hand out to the forum for testing.  They would want to do that in house, give us the beta to beat up and then release it as final if all else looks good.  Dont see that process being any different from what I see here or from what I have experienced with other vendors and companies.  Now your point may be more about change control or change management.  Usually you will see a new release come out (i.e. beta 1, beta 2, release candidate 1, etc) and with those come a nice white paper about what works, what doesnt, what to look for, etc.  So I guess in some ways Lycan any betas we test should have some document to support what works, what known bugs still exist, what areas need to be tested, etc, so that you can catalog the feedback in some meaningful way based upon a certain set of criteria.  If everyone decides to just test the beta firmware any which way and are not sure what works or what doesnt, we could be complaining about something that is already known and why bother to duplicate the effort.  

So far I have no problems with 1.22B5 but then again I really didnt have a problem with 1.21 no-securespot.  But when I tried 1.21 with secure spot, I ran into all kinds of dropped packets and latency with VOIP and someone had advised me that I needed to turn off the spam control.  I have yet to try that but if I had known that, it would have been something I would have paid more attention to and if I saw it happen, would have known right away what to do to solve it.

Hope all that makes some sort of sense.  

[bluenote]

In my experience the latest latest beta 1.22b05 is the best, and the 'official' 1.21 is the absolute worse firmware available.  Yes, it's a little confusing here, but, thats what we got.

[Lycan]

The problem with releasing known bug reports is, I launch the code the minute we get it. We haven't found bugs yet.

Don't forget that even though we're launching betas' there is a time frame for completion/failure.
We're testing side by side the community in some cases.

I'll say that the system isn't prefect, but it's much better then what we used to do, which was NO beta releases at all.

I'll see what can be done about better documentation and reporting scenarios.

[EddieZ]

Left 4 .... dead? Or did you leave your girlfriend 4 Dlink?  

[Wal_]

Left 4 .... dead? Or did you leave your girlfriend 4 Dlink?  

Them be fighting wordZ. (see what I did thar?)