Softwares or systems which are always in a testing phase are described as perpetual beta. The term is used only by developers in order to try out the newest products, services or features.

Perpetual beta is more related to the development and release of a product in which frequent updating of it is the main foundation for the service’s environment and usage.

Google labs (http://labs.google.com/), Google’s technology playground, displays several of their favourite ideas which are not really ready for official release. Users can return feedback to Google. From there, the company is able to improve the idea. A few beta products of Google are:

Google Docs and Spreadsheets BETA
Google Docs and Spreadsheets BETA is the ideal program for users who experience difficulties to keep track of different versions of word documents and excel spreadsheets. This program is a free web-based program that allows you to edit the contents of the files. You can access the files anywhere as long as you have an Internet browser and that you are connected to the Internet.

Learn more about Google Docs and Spreadsheets at http://docs.google.com/

Google Mail BETA
Google Mail, or GMail in short, is Google’s free web-mail service that offers over 2.5 gigabytes of storage. This number does not stop here but instead, it increases everyday. You can store all of your messages, files and pictures forever and ever as the concept behind GMail is to archive. With its built-in Google search technology, users can search quickly and easily find anything they’re looking for.

With instant messaging (using Google Talk) incorporated into GMail, you can contact your friends when you’re online. Google’s approach to e-mail is to make it easy, efficient and fun to use.

Sign up for Google Mail at http://mail.google.com/

When gadgets and programs are connected to the Internet, these applications become ongoing services. Adding features on a regular basis as part of the normal user experience may engage users as real-time testers and instrument the service so that the developer knows how people use the new features, and hence make new products from that direction.

On the other hand, some perpetual betas may perform erratically. They may also have some features, or the entire product, removed without warning, as they are still in the beginning stages of development.