Question: What's your prefered method to name your software releases?
Like Microsoft: alpha - beta - final - service pack...
Like Google: gmail beta - beta - beta - beta - :)
Like some softwares: 0.2 - 0.3 - 0.9999...

Answer: 
Some open source software project name releases after the date they were released. For example Ubuntu 8.04 was released in April 2008 and Ubuntu 6.06 was released in June 2006. But Ubuntu is not the only Linux distribution that uses this method.

Of course each Ubuntu release also has a code name that is each time a different animal, combined with an alliterating adjective (the adjective also serves as a cutesy shorthand for insiders). Each release goes up in the alphabet so people can remember easily where to place a release in the steady stream. For example:

For example
6.06, dapper drake
6.10, edgy eft
7.04, feisty fawn
7.10, gutsy gibbon
For small software just Major.Minor. If Major changes - some input files is not compatible with previous version. We are not prereleasing software to customers so same version is for testing and for final release.