Re: Linux and Software Freedom

Eric Mitchell wrote:
> I realize I got on a tangent and I'm sorry for it. I also mean no
> disrespect to you, Asa, or the rest of the people who make Firefox. I
> truly am a Firefox fan.
>
> On the topic of usability then, where is the evidence upon which this
> decision is based? Were studies done? Was feedback collected prior to
> this plan? I've read through the thread and not found much on it. It
> seems like this is not an enhancement to usability, nor is it truly a
> detriment as long as people learn where to find the version when they
> need it. That being the case, why then change it?


Thanks for asking and for helping to keep this thread on topic. Also 
thanks for not calling for my death or comparing me to hitler as some 
others in this discussion have.

There's a perfect example up-thread where a user didn't know if he was 
up to date when he had Firefox 5.0 installed but Google or some news 
report or some friend told him they had 5.0.1. It turns out that 5.0.1 
was only available for Mac and 5.0 was the most up to date version of 
Firefox for Windows, and that particular user, at the time. The old idea 
that the web can tell you what the latest version is and you can go 
compare that to the version number in an about dialog to find out if 
you're on the latest version doesn't make a lot of sense when versions 
change faster than the reports on the web do. A better solution is 
available. Firefox can perform a live check and tell the user, "yes, we 
just checked 10 seconds ago and you are up to date" or "you were not up 
to date but Firefox is handling that for you now."

In the next couple of releases, all Firefox users (excepting Firefox 3.6 
users which are not yet a part of the rapid release system) will be on 
the latest version. Answering the question "am I on the latest version" 
is the primary usability goal of the About window for Mozilla. We think 
we can answer that in a way that isn't confusing for most people and 
doesn't require users to guess about whether "the Web" or "a friend" of 
"something I read on twitter" are reporting accurately on what the 
latest version is for that user. We think we can offer a much better 
kind of communication to our users here and that the old "here's a 
number, you go figure it out" system was not just less than great, it 
was actually a usability problem.

We don't want to make troubleshooting difficult though, and the version 
number and several other key pieces of information about the Firefox 
being used (like which common prefs have been switched, which extensions 
have been installed, and which rendering mode the user is in) are all 
well explained and prominently displayed in the Troubleshooting window 
-- also available from the Help menu. So if someone is trying to figure 
out why Firefox isn't working as they'd expect it to, they can get 
answers there, or they can work with a support person to translate all 
that information into something actionable.

- A