I can't believe how easy this trick was....but before I begin, a quick word:
 
DISCLAIMER: I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE OR UNEXPECTED RESULTS WITH YOUR PRESENTATION...I'M MERELY DOCUMENTING ANOTHER WAY TO FURTHER CHANGE/CUSTOMIZE THE MANNER IN WHICH BREEZE PRESENTATIONS CAN BE DISPLAYED!!!
 
Just had a client who requested that the duration timing, which normally appears in the navigation/outline panel, be removed.  I had to agree...afterall, it's not what I'd call an exact, or even fair, representation of how long someone would have to sit through the entire presentation (often referred to as "seat time").
 
The remedy?  Breeze Theme Editor to the rescue!
 
How?  Simple.  Open the Theme Editor, then click on the Text Lables button.  When the dialog box appears, we need to look for 2 specific parameters: duration heading and elapsed time.  To make that information disappear, simply remove the parameters in the associated fields.
 
I would strongly recommend that you write down those variables before you destroy them!
 
A few quick notes:  
1. CAVEAT: Doing so can also potentially eliminate any chance of bringing back those parameters, especially if you edit the "My Current Theme" styles and then save the changes!  If that happens, and you want to bring back the duration text/timing for your presentations, you'll need to reinsert the following, as an example, into the associated fields:
 
Elapsed time        %m Minutes %s Seconds Remaining
 
and then resave the theme.
 
2. you could always go into the vconfig.xml file found in the data folder of a published preso to accomplish the same result that I'm reporting here.  The problem, however, is that you'd have to edit the xml doc each and every time you republish your PowerPoint deck.
 
3.this does nothing to the progress bar that shows up in the navigation/outline panel; only the text that can be displayed there.  Amongst the list of items that I'd like to know more about, figuring out a way to deal with the navigation progress bar is one of them.
 
Rob