Always wanted to be one of the first to test out something and get to know everything before anyone else? Apple has just opened up an OS X Beta Seed Program for non-developers, allowing anyone and everyone to test out its pre-release software for free. The beta testing program was previously only available for Apple developers, which costs $99 a year.
You can join the beta testing program at the OS X Beta Seed Program page but before you do so, do read up on the terms and conditions. Before you are allowed to install the Beta Access Utility, Apple will issue you a reminder to set a backup for your device first. You will be testing a pre-release version of the OS so you are bound to run into errors that could disrupt your workflow so always proceed with caution.
Another thing to note before joining is that you will need to agree to its terms and conditions that forbids you from showing off any features before the Cupertino company announces them. “Don’t blog, post screen shots, tweet or publicly post information about the pre-release Apple software, and don’t discuss the pre-release Apple software with or demonstrate it to others who are not in the OS X Beta Seed Program”, warns Apple.
This is actually a pretty big deal, while the company did allow the public to test its beta software in the recent years, it was only limited to individual apps like FaceTime and Safari, but this time round, it is offering its entire operating system to the public for free. The system requirements are:
- OS X Mavericks 10.9 or higher already installed
- 2GB or more of memory
- 8GB or more of available space
Interested? Check out the OS X Beta Seed Program page to find out more and please, do perform a back up first. Time Machine is a very useful tool that can help you backup your machine.
