Updated: July 14, 2020 (September 6, 2004)
Charts & IllustrationsSoftware Prerelease At a Glance
As Microsoft’s products move from development to shipping, they go through a set of interim releases, summarized below, designed to give Microsoft feedback on their contents and quality and help customers plan for deployment. Earlier releases help determine the features and architecture of the product while later ones serve primarily to shake out bugs.
| Release | What To Expect | What Can Be Done With It |
| Milestone | Internal product checkpoint or baseline | Not intended for distribution outside Microsoft |
| Alpha (or preview) | First distribution outside Microsoft
Incomplete features Will have bugs, including some that may cause crashes and data loss |
Evaluate features and architecture with aim of influencing product team or deciding if the product is worth further examination |
| Beta | All features implemented
Basically stable, particularly around core scenarios, but will still crash |
Evaluate features for preliminary deployment plans |
| Release Candidate |
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