Microsoft is expanding their pool of beta participants for the Customer Experience Validation Program and the MSN Beta Program. If you are already a MSN Butterfly there is no need to sign up for CEV or the MSN Beta Program since you are already enrolled.

What is a Customer Experience Validation program?
A CEV program is a group of key customers who have agreed to test a new, unreleased version of a product in their home country. Through testing, these customers provide valuable feedback that we utilize to make MSN products and services more robust and tailored to each locale in order to better meet your communication needs. The CEV program is your chance to make a difference in MSN products!

What is the MSN beta program?
The MSN beta program offers you the exclusive opportunity to test a new version of a product before it is released to the general public. Membership lets select individuals like you share your ideas and play a key role in the development process of our products and services. You can make a difference with MSN!

This membership program has been created to build a trusted community of beta participants that will receive exclusive attention from the MSN Beta Team. You are the voice of our customers and we are offering you a direct channel of communication with our product teams.

What is beta testing?
In a beta program, a group of key customers agrees to test a new version of a product before it is released to the general public. Your participation allows you to share your ideas and have a positive impact on the development of Microsoft products.

The beta testing process is very important because it helps ensure that we release the best possible product. We have selected you from a large pool of applicants because we believe you will provide us with the feedback necessary to accomplish this goal.

What are the benefits of joining the MSN beta program?
Make a difference. By joining the MSN beta program you become an active member of our development team. Your participation will directly assist in improving the quality of MSN products that meet your need.

Be the first to try new products. You’ll be able to use MSN software before anyone else.

The program also gives you and your company the opportunity to use and become familiar with upcoming technology, allowing you to prepare for the new version. This will give you a head start on making a smooth transition and lessen the impact on your productivity.

Participation in the program will give you the opportunity to prepare training for fellow designers and engineers before the new version is released.

Stability of the beta product
Before you continue, it is important to understand that the beta release of any product will not display the stability of a shipped Microsoft product. We have tested our beta products extensively within Microsoft and do not expect major problems; however, use of any pre-release product carries the possibility that you may encounter problems which could potentially result in a loss or destruction of data. Therefore, we suggest that you back up your existing data before you install and run this software.

When will my membership take effect?
When we have a beta ready for testing we will contact you and ask you to complete a survey. Beta members are selected on a number of criteria including your existing knowledge of the product, your availability to use the software during the period of the project, your computer configuration, and which features you use.

We want your experience as a MSN beta member to be positive and productive for both parties.

What are the MSN beta team responsibilities?
1. We will grant you access to the MSN beta program and guide you through the installation process. The website will give you additional information such as how to submit a bug, access the newsgroups, answers to frequently asked questions, and a known issue list.

2. We will provide you with a support email address to be used for all communications with the beta team. This address will be available only to those members participating in the beta and it will be discontinued when the project is completed.

3. We take your feedback very seriously and keep you informed of any work around and progress to resolve these issues.

What do we require from our beta members?
1. Sign a Non Disclosure Agreement prior to starting. Understand that our beta members are part of an exclusive MSN community and by signing our Non Disclosure agreement, you agree to not disclose any information related to our beta outside of the MSN beta program community. Violation to the non disclosure agreement will lead to immediate removal from our program.

2. Use the software in both your normal day’s business and spend some time experimenting with the software actively testing for faults. If we provide testing scenarios, just follow the directions and report any issue.

3. Immediately submit a bug on our Connect website and gives us as much details as possible. We will also provide you with a bug guide with information on how to attach a screenshot, connection log or crash report to your bug submission.

4. Ensure you have sufficient backups of any live data that you use with the Beta software to safe guard against the possibility of data corruption.

If you are selected as a participant, you will be sent a “Welcome” e-mail. That e-mail will contain information on how to download the software from the Microsoft Connect site.

Due to the high volume of responses, we will only be able to contact those customers who have been chosen for the program.

Thank you for taking the time to review this information. We greatly appreciate your participation in the MSN Customer Experience Validation Program and your help to make a difference in MSN products.

Now that you read the requirements for participating, follow the directions below for joining our MSN Beta Program and the CEV Program:

1. Go to http://connect.microsoft.com

2. Enter you .Net Passport and password

3. Enter the nomination ID for your country of residence (we will ship CDs to your home address and you will not be able to participate or receive awards if you are enlisted with an incorrect physical address). If your country is not listed below, we are not recruiting for your country at this time. Stay tuned!

Austria AU-B86F-P6HH
Belgium BE-BFFD-FMV7
Canada CA-8VPP-8W8V
China CH-4PYP-H4D4
France FR-XJGB-JV79
Germany GER-JJBM-9VFY
Italy IT-3FCK-D8XM
Japan JA-DT6D-9YCY
Korea KO-9BV2-T2BP
Netherlands NE-3G4X-4M84
Spain SP-RKFT-CV2X
United Kingdom UK-HQ69-6JBQ
United States US-64JX-J2HJ

4. Complete the nomination survey

5. We will contact you as soon as we have a beta program opening for your country of residence.

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