Re: Removing Firefox Version Number

On Aug 20, 5:16 pm, Asa Dotzler <[email protected]> wrote:
> Adam Kowalczyk wrote:
>
>  > Allow me to chime in, as I made the same point in another post but it
>  > went unanswered.
>  >
>  > Your answer doesn't address the problem. He heard Firefox 15 was
>  > have process-per-tab and he wants to find out if he's running that
>  > version yet. Telling that he's got the latest version, without
>  > specifying its number, does not help him.
>
> Hi Adam. Two answers. First, if Firefox 15 has shipped, he's already
> running it or will be as soon as he opens the About window.  If it
> hasn't shipped, he's not running it. He doesn't have to wonder.

Yes I do, because I have no way of knowing when Mozilla actually
pushes FF15 out to updaters.  Like I said before, what if Mozilla is
pushing out the update later in the day or the release even gets
delayed.  Since I don't know what Mozilla's current definition of "up-
to-date" means, "You are up-to-date" is not a helpful piece of
information here.  The version number is.


> Second, for the relatively small group of people who are interested in
> the architectural changes happening in Firefox, the Troubleshooting page
> will make it very obvious which version they are using. If I want to
> know if I've got the Firefox version that ships with Azure Canvas, and I
> know that Azure canvas is in Firefox 7, I can very easily click the
> Firefox menu, then the Help menu, then the Troubleshooting menuitem.

I pity the confused user who doesn't know about that.  (I was one
until I stumbled onto this discussion.)


> Let me give you another example. Firefox shipped "Hardware Acceleration"
> in Firefox 4. As a user I might want to know if I have Hardware
> Acceleration. Opening the About dialog and looking at the version there,
> Firefox 4.0.1 doesn't actually tell me if I have hardware acceleration.
> The only easy way to find that out is to go to the Troubleshooting
> window and see if I have full, partial, or no hardware acceleration.

I can't see anywhere where it says whether I have full, partial or no
HW acceleration on the troubleshooting page...  Was this added post-
FF6?  (I can ask that because I know I'm using FF6.)


> Likewise, Firefox shipped with a "new Firefox button for all your common
> menu-driven interactions". As a user I might want to know if I have that
> feature. The way to find this out is not to open the About dialog, but
> to look up at my toolbar and see if I have the new Firefox button. If
> I'm on Mac, or Linux, or Windows XP, I won't have it and the version
> number doesn't help me at all because it's only available on certain
> platforms.

Windows XP and Linux both have the new FF menu...  (Can't speak for
Mac.)


> My point is, that the features that power users like you and me care
> about (hardware acceleration, new graphics backends, process separation,
> etc.) are better understood from the Troubleshooting window than the
> About window AND that non-geeky features, like the Firefox button or
> tabs on top, are obvious from the feature itself or not better
> understood by querying the About dialog.

Why are they better understood from the troubleshooting window?  Us
"power users" who follow FF's development (and actually know what
different versions signify) will be better served by a concise version
number than by an exhaustive listing of browser information, the only
piece of which we need is the version number.


> But, because I don't want to be accused again of not answering the
> question, if you're one of those people who follow the tech press
> closely enough that you're waiting for new features in Firefox, you can
> always check the Troubleshooting page for the Firefox version -- or if
> you really really need it front and center, there are extensions that
> will put it in your titlebar or addonbar for you where you can't ever
> miss it, and I'm sure there will be an extension that puts it into the
> About dialog as well.

In other words, we have to modify the browser to make it behave
correctly.  For the relatively few people who know this is required,
this is only a nuisance.  However, for even power users unaware of
this change, it is a big problem.  I consider myself very attentive to
FF's development, yet I had no idea that the version number could be
found on the troubleshooting page until I read through this
discussion.  How is it going to be when users less attentive than I
suddenly lose the ability to discover what version they're using.  A
lot more confusion than anyone has experienced because of the presence
of the version number -- that's for sure.