**FIRST EMAIL**/Invitation to Beta test the New Control System

[Shadow503]

People should remember that this is a BETA test.

"Betaware is a nickname for software which has passed the alpha testing stage of development and has been released to a limited amount of users for software testing before its official release. Beta testing allows the software to undergo usability testing with users who provide feedback, so that any malfunctions these users find in the software can be reported to the developers and fixed."

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_test#Beta]

The intention of this is so that NI and WPI can work out any bugs before the season. Everyone in FIRST benefits from a functional, stable control system. Rookie teams may have a hard time setting up and using the controller. NI and WPI need teams that will be able to delve into the low levels of this controller's capabilities.

And as mentioned before, FIRST is doing an excellent job of ensuring that teams that don't beta test the controller will still get a fair chance. And I don't foresee these 4 hour seminars being dry lectures. I know I would rather help a rookie programmer by giving them hands on experience than by babbling on about setting up I/O functions for 4 hours.