Its not as if this Linux mailing group, Linus, or a committee of Linux
gurus sat around one night and said: "Say, we'll just use the word 'Alpha' to mean
an experimental and undebugged release of some piece of the kernel".
Use of Alpha for experimental release and
Beta for pre-release of hopefully debugged software
has been in common usage for some time now.
If we start calling experimental releases anything other than
'Alpha', we will be out of step with just about everyone else in
the software industry.
This would probably not be a "good thing".
Its usually pretty obvious when one is referring to 'Alpha' the computer chip and
'Alpha' the level of software, Just like when I'm referring to Linus, the software guru, and
Linus, the Peanuts comic strip character. When it is not I suggest using another name for
the chip. Somebody suggested AXP, I believe?
-- todd --