Scoble and Joe Wilcox bash it out with betas

Scoble refers to the recent post by Joe Wilcox in which Mr. Wilcox finds the practice of frequent beta releases by Microsoft is quite detrimental -

" I see Microsoft's current approach to betas as a drug, a quick fix that could lead the company down a dark dead-end alley."

Mr Wilcox has some strong arguments albeit some are easily refuted - Open Source projects are in 'permanent' state of betas (visit sf.net for examples). He states the over-marketing of the beta product - I think what he wants to say but doesn't quite say it is that betas do "lock-in" customers.

One approach (perhaps acceptable by Mr Wilcox) would be to have only MSDN and TechNet subscribers access to the betas. In most cases, these subscribers make recommendation and have an influence over product purchasing. Their feedback (to MSFT development) would be more focused than general public comments (including zealous journalists).  Moreover, they pay for their subscriptions (~$350-$2400) and having an almost exclusive access to beta bits may appear good "value" of their subscriptions.