Total Current Archive Size: 1115.93GB in 5120 files
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| {The community for beta collectors} |
Hello and welcome to BetaArchive!
About BetaArchive's free repositoryHello and welcome to BetaArchive, one of the largest beta file repositories on the web! BetaArchive was opened in August 2006 by Andrew Whyman and is currently managed by Andrew "Andy" Whyman with the assistance from co-admin mrpijey and moderators Hounsell, Daniel, Vista Ultimate R2, Beta Freak, Rioter and Andrew. Since the opening we have built up a huge repository of over 1000GB beta titles and still growing every day! We hope you will enjoy your stay on the forum amongst the community that has brought BetaArchive to where it is today. You will find all our members knowledgeable, helpful and very excited with every contribution!
Total Current Archive Size: 1115.93GB in 5120 files
Why did BetaArchive open?BetaArchive opened as a replacement to the long lost popular beta collector site OSBetaArchive.com. After a long line of arguments and problems with some members, the owners had enough and decided it was time to shut down the site to the public and go private. This lead to BetaArchive opening just 18 hours after OSBetaArchive.com shut down, and today a large portion of OSBetaArchive.com's members still attend BA on a regular basis, as for many BetaArchive was just a continuation of OSBetaArchive.com's amazing work. What is the purpose of BetaArchive?Plain and simply, we want to preserve the existence of beta software on the web so anyone can see the development of software for years to come, and also to preserve it for the future. Some people think beta software are just pieces of incomplete code with no value, but they're not. Many beta titles contain features that were never found in the final product and all of them show how a product was developed during those years before final launch. BetaArchive offers you a free view into pieces of software history, much of which would be lost forever without BetaArchive. We also keep a small but growing repository of complete but old software, called "abandonware". What sort of files does BetaArchive collect?Foremost BetaArchive keeps popular software in the form of pre-beta, beta or release candidate stages of development. Examples are beta versions of Windows XP (called Whistler during development), Windows Vista (Longhorn) and even builds of Windows 7 (simply codenamed "7"). There are many builds of some products, like for example Windows Vista (known by developers as "Longhorn"), which was developed for almost 6 years! A lot of builds were released and BetaArchive has most of them! There have been a lot of changes during the development of Vista and you can witness it yourself by testing out these builds for free! BetaArchive also keeps development releases of various software for other platforms such as Macintosh, Nintendo and Sega consoles, and Apple products, etc, to name just a few. Wait, so its really all free?!Yes! We don't believe in charging for anything on BetaArchive, nor do we believe in shoving ads in your face. However recent times has meant we rely on donations and ads for the upkeep of the site. BetaArchive ask members to upload builds for free and BetaArchive will return the favour by providing a mirror of them for free for everyone to enjoy. If you enjoyed the site and found it useful perhaps you can even make a donation to help keep the site alive and free. Like all websites, it does cost a fair amount to run, and if the members don't donate, it's up to the owner to cover the costs. Being the largest beta repository on the net is not an easy task so we ask members to help BetaArchive stay on the net and continue its task of preserving betas. |
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by - Beta Operating Systems
- Chicago / Memphis
- Whistler / Longhorn
- Windows 7 / Windows 8
- Other Codenames
- Apple
Beta Operating Systems
BetaArchive offers a wide range of beta operating systems, from Microsoft and Apple, including codenames Windows Chicago, Memphis, Whistler, Longhorn and of course, Windows 7 (briefly codenamed Blackcomb and Vienna). The purpose of BetaArchive is to keep an archive of operating systems in the developing stages, so they can be shared with the world, and their features enjoyed.
BetaArchive would like to offer you a free view into the past of these operating systems. By joining the community and contributing a small amount, you will get access to over 1000GB (1TB) of archives on a dedicated 100Mbps connection. You can download to your hearts content, and enjoy the surprises hidden within them.
Chicago / Memphis
Windows Chicago is the codename for what you know as Windows 95. It was released in August 1995 after around 3 years of planning and development. It was the first operating system in the 9x line.
Windows Memphis is the codename for what you know as Windows 98.It was released to manufacturers in May 1998. A second edition of Windows 98 was released 1 year later, offering security and software updates.
Whistler / Longhorn
Windows Whistler is the codename for what you know as XP. It was released in August 2001, and was the successor to Windows ME (codename Millennium) and Windows 2000 (codename Memphis NT). It was the first consumer OS to be built using the NT Kernel and architecture.
Windows Longhorn is the codename for what you know as Vista, however it was a long-haul development and took 5 1/2 years to reach manufacturers. It was released in November 2006.
Windows 7 / Windows 8
Windows 7 never really had a codename, as it was renamed twice before it was released in July 2009. Blackcomb and Vienna were the two briefly used codenames for Windows 7 in its less than 3 years of development.
Windows 8, as of March 2010, has not had any leaked builds, and has no known codename. You can follow updates on Windows 8 on the forum.
Other codenames
There were other codenames that Microsoft used, such as:-
- Daytona, the codename for Windows NT3.5
- Cougar, the server edition of Longhorn
- Centro, for the Windows Essential Business Server
- Fiji, for Windows Vista Media Centre Feature Pack 2008
Of course there are many more codenames that Microsoft used for it's various operating systems and software packages. Why don't you have a read of them in the Microsoft Discussion Forum.
Apple
Like Microsoft, Apple also have their fair share of codenames to sit side-by-side with their products. In the case of Apple, they appear to have named their codenames after animals. For example:-
- Jaguar, the codename for Mac OS X 10.2
- Kodiak, the codename for Mac OS X Public Beta
- Leopard, the codename for Mac OS X 10.5
- Snow Leopard, the codename for Mac OS X 10.6
The list goes on and on. The difference with Apple, is they keep the codename assigned to their operating system through development and release, where as Microsoft change the name of their operating systems after or close to release.
We have an Apple discussion forum for all of your questions, and plenty of members of the forum have lots of knowledge to share about Apple products.
