by Joel Spolsky Tuesday, March 02, 2004 _source:_http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/BetaTest.html     Here are a few tips for running a beta test of a software product intended for large audiences — what I call “shrinkwrap”. These apply for commercial or open source projects; I don’t care whether you get paid in cash, eyeballs, or peer recognition, but I’m focused on products for lots of users, not internal IT projects. Open betas don’t