It's not like they've bumped up their words per minute or something. But the way you schedule something for a year is different from how you schedule for a month. You have simple focuses/ goals.
Nah I dont like rapid release cycles. It depends hot it is done IMHO. the problem with firefox and chrome is that they keep changing the full version number every release which makes it seem like massive changes have been made when hardly anything has changed. If firefox and chrome want to keep rapid versioning they should make use of minor numbers and only use major numbers if its justified by a major change. Both products need to maintain compatibility with addons which atm they dont seem to. thunderbird by mozilla suffers the same issues as it also uses rapid versioning. quite a few antivirus vendors have quit making addons for thunderbird because they have to update their addon every 6 weeks just to make it compatible with the current version.
I'm not crazy about it, no. Extensions being dropped, or automatically being marked compatible, probably with insufficient testing if any, new settings to tweak, new features to disable. I don't have the time or inclination anymore. Of course sometimes i read up on what's new. I still use Firefox though (Firefox latest and Iceweasel esr), so it isn't hate or whatever people make of it.. Firefox is made by good folks. Sometimes they go all nuts on us, but they're good people, and teh program is still very good.
Nope, hate them and since I only do Firefox (well, PaleMoon) I skip a lot of them. I'd like to see them deliver security fixes separate from feature enhancements. I'm not going to deal with some "improvement" I don't even want just to get the latest fix. Much more of this and I'll go back to IE.
I'm generally favorable to rapid release cycles because I like to get the latest features when they are ready. I don't like when interesting ready features are postponed for year(s) just to make a better single larger release event. For corporate usage (large organizations), I think the IE way is better suited. . Firefox ESR may be what you want: - http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/ - http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/faq/
I get a feeling it's the outsiders, bloggers and tech sites in need of hits, who are making the version number an issue. It definitely not Mozilla or Google.
Serious bug fixes and security patches should be rolled out as fast and frequently as prudently possible. Obviously, those shouldn't occur very frequently or there is a problem with the software developers and their quality assurance process. Otherwise, I think releases should be no more frequent than every 4 months. I think such an interval is fast enough to satisfy those wanting prompt access to new release quality features while also being infrequent enough that those wanting and attempting to carefully review each release don't have to interrupt their work and/or life schedule too frequently.
I don't mind the rapid release cycles. I figure if I can take the time to test all this security software, then it's no problem for me to update my firefox every 6 weeks. Plus, I like having a browser that is constantly being improved.
What about neutral? I noticed that most of the fuss made on the release cycle is actually due to the versioning system currently used compared to the complain over the pace of development. I don't blame end-users if they psychologically feel the 'hate' for the numbering used as it doesn't help them to easily differentiate if a new release offers major benefits compared to the version they're currently using. Personally, I like the rapid release cycle as it gives end-users like me the chance to test new features and new improvements earlier. Perhaps it may be more favorable for some if the stable release cycle was for 8 weeks (or simply said every 2 months) instead and perhaps released at the start/end of the month. IMO (feel free to disagree), Mozilla can still get a "win-win" situation by adopting a stable channel system as follows: E.g. Day 1: V14.0 2 months: V14.1 4 months: V14.2 6 months: V15 Meanwhile, any necessary bug fix/security patches that needs to be quickly addressed in between releases can be released as e.g 14.11 or 14.21. With this system, within 1 year, Firefox gets 2 major bumps in numbering from e.g. V14 to V16 which I hope to be a 'reasonable' figure for most system administrators.
I don't like the Chrome/Firefox Rapid releases, not a personal reason, but because as a web developer it has created more work. Rapid release of fixes and and minor non-breaking changes is fine, but anything that alters the html/css/js or whatever spec supported is a pain, especially as we never know what features can/will make the final release cut, so its not even predictable so we can use beta versions. I have to develop websites and test to against specified (by the client) versions of browsres, if a new version comes out in the midst of development (for the size of website I develop this is once every six months), its extra testing, potentially extra development to make changes. It adds time and adds costs. It has increased our support load as we now have users on different versions of the same browser, bug reports that quickly go obselete as the latest browser becomes old and we have to chace up users to retry/test to see if the newer browser since they reported the bug helps. Its like servers, rapid release, rolling releases look fine in isolation, but when there are systems and software that run on them that need retesting, recertifying, support staff need kept upto date with new changes, these changes need approving with management and potentially trying to get a client to approve it adds a lot of cost and effort, quite often more than the changes introduced in the release are worth. Cheers, Nick
My understanding is that the beta will not see new features added. Features may be removed if found to be detrimental somehow. I have no knowledge of how often that happens. So Mozilla claims that there's ~ six weeks to get acquainted with the new version.
Voted No. I was on Firefox 12 yesterday, at Firefox 13 today and perhaps Firefox 14 tomorrow. While it is a bit annoying... "Rats! another update already!" I just <sigh> upgrade and continue on. There isn't much I can do about it at any rate. Switching to other that Firefox is NOT an option. I happen to like Firefox. Can't comment of Chrome, don't use it. I have tried it. It is not for me.
Agree! Since I have Sandboxie, I don't do auto-updating of my browser, but Chrome makes it easy and I appreciate that they are turning out security-related updates frequently.
Frankly, I think for some part of the objective is to wear users down and get them accustomed to accepting updates without question, testing, so forth.
Well if I was into conspiracies I might agree, but I am not. I think it's more about "monkey see, monkey do" or "Keeping up with the Joneses". Besides I think most users are already worn down regarding updates and software released before it's time.
Well even I don't think of it in terms of a conspiracy as that to me at least implies that separate companies are actively coordinating their actions. Companies in the same industry often make similar if not identical moves simply due to having the same underlying motivations and market conditions. I think very many companies/developers share (and have shared for quite a long time) the desire to move things away from the "users get updates when THEY want to" model to the "users get updates when WE want them to" model. IIRC I've even seen that mentality expressed by some Mozilla developers and not just in cases where the "its for their own good" argument could be used. Anyway, your comment made me think of that in part because Mozilla's rapid release schedule has contributed to my at times wanting to "just update and get it over with".
Although I used to like Fx updates/releases and looked forward to them, I don't anymore. Way too many updates/releases to Fx and its extensions since v 4.0. Have been using Fx since 2004. Yet no way I want to get another browser other than Palemoon and Fx.
If a feature is pulled that I developed against I have to then change my website code and retest by the time that's done another release is due which may or may not have that feature.