Re: Removing Firefox Version Number

On Aug 15, 6:42 pm, Asa Dotzler <[email protected]> wrote:
> Tyler Downer wrote:
> >> The justification is simple. We're removing the Firefox version number
> >> from all of the common user-visible locations because we don't believe
> >> that users need to know what version they're on. We're moving to a model
> >> that's more like the Web. What version of Gmail are you on?
>
> > I know it isn't Beta anymore ;) But on a serious side, Gmail is a
> > webpage. Firefox is a program that I have to download and install on
> > my computer. I have no control over Gmail's version even if I wanted
> > it. I can't roll back, I can't update. It just is. Firefox, I can, and
> > should be able to. It is installed on my computer, I want to know what
> > version it is without having to type in "about"troubleshooting" or go
> > to a non-standard location to find it.
>
> You cannot roll back Firefox versions without losing support. You get
> automatic updates with Firefox unless you've disabled that feature which
> you absolutely should not unless you're trying to get exploited.
>
> No one is taking these things away. You can roll back. You can turn off
> updates. It's just a foolish thing to do in all but very exceptional
> cases and we discourage it.

I agree with Tyler here. I had a really bad experience with the latest
version of Thunderbird on Mac (it was practically unusable). I asked a
friend what number he was using, and Googled to download the old
version of Thunderbird (I used the version number when Googling). I
have refrained from updating to the latest version by checking what
the version number is ("still 5.0!? ... no thanks!").

I'll also note that the whole automatic updates to the latest and
greatest is not without it's problems. Whatever the latest version of
Chrome is, it's freezing like crazy on my Mac (I know, I'm complaining
about Chrome on a Moz mailing list!:))... Now I'm wishing I could
revert to whatever the previous version of Chrome is because the
constant freezes are starting to affect my work.

Just thought I would share an experience.