>>>A public beta of SP1 for Visual FoxPro 9.0 is now available for free download on msdn.com. This is the first time the VFP team has posted a free public beta of a SP (Service Pack) for Visual FoxPro. The download page has a text file download with the bug fix list contained in the SP1 beta. Refer to the download page on msdn.com for more details.
>>>
>>>http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=1C06E35D-10A2-4A05-84FC-495B3A73ECF7&displaylang=en
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>>Fantastic. Thanks for letting the community test it out.
>
>I wonder how else they would do it (test it)?

There is no way they are compensating for a lack of resources. Public beta testing is more about marketing. In particular it draws customers in as they get to play with the product and get buy in via submitting bugs and feedback.