Michael R. Fine is a beta testing consultant, author, and inventor. He is the author of "Beta Testing for Better Software" (Wiley, 2002), and is currently the director of client services at Centercode, a beta testing software and services company which he co-founded. Fine is actively engaged in the promotion of beta testing as a concept, speaking on the topic and authoring several articles on it.

Fine conducted beta tests on the first Palm

Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc., was a smartphone manufacturer headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that was responsible for products such as the Pre and Pixi as well as the Treo and Centro smartphones. Previous product lines include the PalmPilot, Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII, Zire and Tungsten. While their older...

 handheld devices, as well as the original Bluetooth

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...

 designs, and was significantly involved in the launch of xDSL and WiFi

WIFI

WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...

. He was also actively engaged in the testing of new modem

Modem

A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...

 standards, starting with V.32 up through V.92. Prior to helping found Centercode, Fine was the beta test managerfor Megahertz, U.S. Robotics

U.S. Robotics

USRobotics Corporation is a company that makes computer modems and related products. It sold high-speed modems in the 1980s, and had a reputation for high quality and compatibility. With the reduced usage of voiceband modems in North America in the early 21st century, USR is now one of the few...

, and ultimately, 3Com

3Com

3Com was a pioneering digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network infrastructure products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney, Bruce Borden, and Greg Shaw...

 Corporation. He was responsible for managing the beta testing of 3Com's networking and communications products for three of their global divisions.

In addition to technical writing

Technical writer

A technical writer is a professional writer who designs, creates, and maintains technical documentation...

 for Iomega

Iomega

Iomega is an American producer of consumer external, portable and networking storage hardware. Established in the 1980s, Iomega has sold more than 410 million digital storage drives and disks. On April 8, 2008, EMC Corporation announced its plans to acquire Iomega for a consideration of US $213M...

 and several magazine articles, Fine is the author of three books:

• Beta Testing for Better Software (ISBN 0471250376)
• Utah: The Complete Ski and Snowboard Guide (ISBN 0881507423)
• Canoeing and Kayaking Utah (ISBN 0881507032)

Fine contributed to U.S. Patent 6215799 for an ISDN Analog Interface, and U.S. Patent 6275933 for a security design.

Fine graduated Loyola Academy

Loyola Academy

Loyola Academy is a private, co-educational college preparatory high school, located in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, it is one of 47 Jesuit high schools in the United States and is a member of the Jesuit Secondary Education...

 in 1984, then Weber State University

Weber State University

Weber State University is a public university located in the city of Ogden in Weber County, Utah, USA. It was founded in 1889 and is a coeducational, publicly supported university offering professional, liberal arts and technical certificates, as well as associate, bachelor's and master's degrees...

 in 1989, and currently serves as a member of its Alumni Association Board. Fine is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha

Pi Kappa Alpha

Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...

national fraternity.