@jcasman I believe that the main point was summarized in this section.
Related to the above is the matter of beta releases for developers. Mature platform owners provide firmware update pre-release betas to their developer community. This allows developers to test their own existing apps/plugins against the new firmware to ensure nothing is broken. If problems are found, it allows a development/test window where both parties have the opportunity to adjust software to maximise interoperability. Without such beta releases, there is a real risk that commercial customers see broken software and services or performance impacts. I am aware of a specific case where this has happened with a Ricoh plugin.
@jcasman , also remember that there is no way for developers to install beta firmware on their own. There’s no way to just make it available through the desktop app. In addition to the legal work on beta licenses and beta program agreement, there would also need to be a modification to the upgrade utility or a new utility would have be created.
Basically, even if we recommend that beta firmware be shared with developers in a “beta” program, we would still need to make achievable recommendations on the distribution process.
See this information on a beta software release for the SC2.
See the process here:
Note that the SC2 is running a different internal OS from the X and Z1. Thus, I don’t know if the beta upgrade process would be the same.