I think we (or better... they Developers) should simply release versions based on SVN. I mean: stop with U1, U2, U3 but simply go ahead with MAME 0.149 SVN r24214 for example. Then when all seems ready for a full build, go ahead with MAME 0.150 SVN r24358.... As far as I know, the vast majority of software which have a public and/or accessible SVN do this. My two cents.