There has been some discussion and complaints about how current versions are showing version information on the Help > About Firefox display.

Click Firefox button > Help > Troubleshooting Information > Build Configuration link > Built from link

The version information will be at the top of the display like: FIREFOX_6_0b4_BUILD1

not on my system... I had to select build source to see it.... mozilla-beta - changeset - 70582:dddc7c7a3975 summary | shortlog | changelog | graph | tags | files | changeset | raw | bz2 | zip | gz Automated checkin: version bump for firefox 6.0b4 release. CLOSED TREE a=release GECKO60_2011072907_RELBRANCH SEAMONKEY_2_3b2_BUILD1 FIREFOX_6_0b4_BUILD1 SEAMONKEY_2_3b2_RELEASE FIREFOX_6_0b4_RELEASE author ffxbld Fri Jul 29 07:24:56 2011 -0700 (at Fri Jul 29 07:24:56 2011 -0700) branch GECKO60_2011072907_RELBRANCH changeset 70582 dddc7c7a3975 parent 70576 d66a5a76f6ba child 70583 37f2811ba92c pushlog: dddc7c7a3975 Automated checkin: version bump for firefox 6.0b4 release. CLOSED TREE a=release

mozilla-beta Feed

Am I reading that correctly? If so how hard would it be to have it displayed on the about page for us non developer types...

Try Help > Troubleshooting Information. That will bring up a table of data that will tell you what the version is, and a lot of other info as well.

"Am I reading that correctly? If so how hard would it be to have it displayed on the about page for us non developer types... "

Automated checkin: version bump for firefox 6.0b4 release. is what I look for to ascertain the version I am looking at. (I have multiple versions of Firefox installed.)

I think the Firefox developer's want less importance placed by users on specific version numbers, in preparation for silent updates which will be coming in a future version of Firefox. I call it "Chrome-envy" - where they see Google's Chrome browser as some sort of pinnacle they aspire to reach. Chrome is Chrome, no version number is mentioned when you go to download it, look at its' features, or look for help. The only thing a user see's is a "Beta channel" version being mentioned as available. When the separate "Google update process" discovers a new version of Chrome is available for download, it is done automatically - no announcement to the user or user intervention is needed, and no restart of Chrome is required.

Thanks the-edmeister, sounds like your a chrome type of guy. I look forward to the hands off update process that would be good. What I see is some sites say beta xxx is available and I don't know it is for me or not because I can't really tell where I am in the update stream.

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@cchur
Nope, I never used Chrome, but I did try Chromium on my Windows desktop PC for a few months last year. I got tired of the Google updater. exe running all the time and Google's method of doing updates, so it's gone. I do have Chromium on my Linux EeePC since last summer, but Ubuntu handles all updates and gives the user the capability to accept or deny, any or all updates - much more to my liking, similar to the way Mozilla does it. I don't like software developers forcing to update until I am ready to proceed.

There's a lot more about this new Fast Release system, than just the lack of visible version numbers, that I don't like. The Nightly, Aurora, Beta, & Release sequence is dumb with the way it changes the version numbers. I prefer installing (for instance) what will become version 7 and have that installation progress thru the 4 stages, instead. Now it's like Nightly going from 7 to 8, Aurora going from 6 to 7, and Beta doing - hell, I won't know if it becomes a Release or if it just dies and I will have to install the Release version myself. Quite honestly I don't care, because I don't think this new "system" is going to last too long without major modifications. Too damn many users are so pissed off, that when Firefox starts losing large numbers of users, Chrome keeps growing and eventually passes Firefox in number of users and market share of usage - Mozilla will wake up and see the "light" and change back to the way things used to be done, to a certain extent.

I also dislike the UI changes in 4/5/6/7 enough that I am still using Firefox 3.6 for almost everything and Firefox 2.0.0.20 for the rest. I have been setting my toolbars up almost like Mozilla did for Firefox 4, since Firefox 0.7 in 2003 and I haven't come up with a workable combination of mods and extensions to configure Firefox to look and work the way I have been doing for almost 8 years now.

I cannot understand why the Mozilla developers think that Chrome is the ultimate. It has been progressively dumbed down, from what I have seen. I hope those silent updates will be able to be turned off, since I really dislike things that update themselves.