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April 19, 2005

HP made MPE beta test opportunities easier to find

HP is introducing a new section on its Jazz Web site which lists available MPE/iX beta test patches. The site lists all available BT patches for releases 6.5, 7.0, and 7.5, and is updated daily. The new section at identifies the patches, which are have been tested inside HP, at a minimum, but are not yet ready for General Release (GR). HP will not move patches from beta test to GR status until they have been tested at one or more customer sites. Patches available for public downloads from the HP IT Resource Center, for example, are GR patches.

The Jazz listings don’t provide customers any links to download the beta test software. HP’s procedures require that customers be on HP support to receive beta test patches, in part to provide a means to report on the testings.

HP said it developed the Web site was developed in response to discussions held at the HP World 2004 SIGMPE meeting. “By publishing the list of BT patches, we hope customers will volunteer to become a Beta Test site for one or more patches,” said HP’s Jeff Vance. HP 3000 customers have become reluctant to beta test MPE patches, hoping to keep changes to their systems to a minimum and ensure reliability.


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