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Where Can I Test my program remotely? (on an xp, vista, 7 machine etc)

by MarketingVet09
3 replies
Hi guys.. Simple question really... Say I'm getting some software made.. And I need it to work on Xp, Vista, 7... I don't want to just take the freelance programmers word for it.. And I only have a windows 7 pc...

Is there some type of service were this can be tested remotely?


(I guess the thought just popped in my head, that I could hire a freelancer who has xp / vista, to install teamviewer and test it... or even get them to make me a video of their screen installing the program).


But, for the sake of me not just answering my own question, any 3rd party services out there like this? lol
#machine #program #remotely #vista
  • Profile picture of the author WebVyz
    The first thing you need is a test specification. You can write this up in an informal way for your programmer and then have him write a cross-platform test script using a tool like Eggplant.

    A test script is important for what is called "regression testing" -- that is testing each new release of the software. You will have multiple releases because software will have bugs. If you don't regression test each release (that is run the same test on each new release) you won't know if you have introduced new bugs when you fixed old bugs.

    One option is to install multiple operating systems and reboot each time you want to run the test.
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  • Profile picture of the author mojojuju
    You can use virtualization. I'd just load XP and Vista on some virtualbox instances and test away.

    Actually it might be cheaper than buying an XP and a Vista license to go on Craigslist and buy used computers running Vista and XP.
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    :)

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    • Profile picture of the author Brandon Tanner
      Like mojojuju said, you can use VirtualBox to run multiple operating systems on a single computer, but you would still need to own a legit copy of each OS in order to do that.

      BUT... if you plan to sell or distribute your software to others, then you should definitely get at least a handful of beta testers to help you test it out (in addition to just you testing it).

      Reason being is that there are a nearly infinite amount of different computer configurations, so your beta testers may find problems that you weren't aware of (even the ones that test on the same OS as you). Not to mention... your testers can be a great source of feedback and suggestions, etc.

      What I usually do is post a 'looking for beta testers' thread in the 'Members looking to hire you' section of the forum, then offer my testers a free copy of the 1.0 version of the software as soon as it becomes available, in exchange for their help testing the beta. I usually have all the testers I need after just a few days of the thread going live.
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