The Version Number Is Dead. Google Barely Whispers The Launch Of Chrome 8 | Hacker News Reader

The Version Number Is Dead. Google Barely Whispers The Launch Of Chrome 8

techcrunch.com

6 pointsobilgic8 comments

I guess the average person assumes that a higher version number implies a 'better' (define your own interpretation) product. Seems Google is joining that particular use of version numbers as marketing. And to be honest, to some degree I can completely understand this. Imagine having to explain why Internet Explorer 6 is not a better product than Firefox 3....

As a developer I always find it hard versioning my work. Why do I consider it to be a 0.8 and not 1.0? Why would you consider it 1.0 and not 0.8? I try to stick to the following rule of thumb:

a.b.c

a) Major changes or multiple big new features b) Medium changes, maybe one or twee new small features c) Improvements

I'm curious as to what 'system' other people use to determine their software's version numbering.

"Seems Google is joining that particular use of version numbers as marketing." I disagree. Sure they have higher numbers, but they're also not making a big deal about it.

"Seems Google is joining that particular use of version numbers as marketing."

Perhaps. But, if this is really their strategy, they're doing a terrible job of it. If they really are thinking this way, wouldn't they be much louder about it?

I suspect that products for which major releases are trumpeted loudly by marketing organizations (think IE9) elicit two kinds of reactions: (1) "Wow, I have to download that NOW!" and (2) "New things are scary, so I will avoid upgrading."

Reaction #2 is what has caused IE6 to die such an agonizingly slow death. Grandmas probably thought it scary to upgrade, and IT managers certainly have been burned in the past by "major" software upgrades.

The web browser experience improves only when developers believe the lowest common denominator browser feature set of their user base has shifted upward and they can therefore drop support for older stuff. It doesn't matter so much now quickly IE9 is adopted compared to how quickly IE6 (and 7, etc.) go away. Perhaps by positioning newer versions of Chrome as just a normal course of change (much like Microsoft security patches), Google hopes to help the laggards hurry up.

I'm not really sure why revving the major version number so fast on chrom* makes any sense - or makes any difference. By their goals I'll be running chromium 26 in two years.

The Chrome team revs version numbers for development reasons not for marketing reasons. It's a return to the classic, and more useful, use of versioning.

Or, they had to catch up with IE so that when Microsoft promote IE9 they can say Chrome9 has all that, and this, and runs faster with a smaller footprint ...

Cynical and optimistic.

IMO people will be affected by the numbers and will tend to think that a higher number means a more finished, ostensibly better product.

The only exposure people have to Chrome revisions are if they dig down into the about info (and there it's just a single version string, there is no per major version branding) and in independent news reports. Typically a Chrome user would have to read google's Chrome release notes blog to find out what new features a major version change entail.

From everything google does there's no indication they care particularly about the major version number other than as a guide for major development milestones. Typically the average user is never exposed to the major version number. Indeed, most users will experience major version updates with absolutely zero fan-fare. In contrast, Firefox and IE make a much bigger deal about major version numbers. They use per-version branding, they notify the user when they've updated versions, and they put out press releases with the hope of getting a lot of coverage when they make a major release.

Exactly. This is an effective user-centric strategy that to me explains how Chrome has made such massive inroads in a deeply entrenched area - it gets out of the way and isn't annoying.

(Until your swapfile hits 6GB, and Windows starts moaning and then you have to restart Chrome :P)

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