

Install Firefox 3.5 in Ubuntu 9.04 using Ubuntuzilla - tan1337
http://tanu.wordpress.com/2009/07/16/install-firefox-3-5-in-ubuntu-9-04-using-ubuntuzilla/

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nailer
Why can't I just visit firefox.com, have it detect my OS, and provide a dpkg
to install?

Firefox seems to dedicate less resources to Linux than OS X and Windows. That
may be in keeping with their market share, but its certainly not doing their
fellow Open Source brethren any favors.

~~~
DEinspanjer
We offer a tarball for Linux that contains a command line installer. The
problem is you just requested a dpkg. Others might want a .deb or a .ipackage
or a .rpm or any other package flavor. There are fewer package management
systems than there are Linux distros, but that doesn't mean there are still a
lot.

Additionally, distros tend to want to manage the package building themselves.
Some groups want to add in tweaks or configuration templates. Others want to
include their own pages or optimizations. We can't logistically consider
trying to manage all that centrally, nor would we want to take the control
away from those distros.

So, I agree, you do get a slightly less comfortable distribution mechanism for
the browser. You get additional control and choice depending on the distro you
chose though.

What Mozilla does endeavor to do is make sure that the core code works well on
all three platforms. That is where we feel it is most valuable to dedicate our
resources.

~~~
nailer
How is a non-hacker end user supposed to run a tarball? How are they supposed
to know what the installer is? Why make it so hard?

Why can't Firefox do what Skype and Miro do (below)?

* If the user string contains Windows, provide an MSI. In these OSes, if you click on a MSI package, it installs.

* If the user string contains OS X, provide a install image. In these OSes, if you click on an install image, it installs.

* If the user string contains Debian or Ubuntu, provide a dpkg. In these OSes, if you click on an dpkg, it installs.

* If the user string contains Fedora, RHEL or SuSE, provide a rpm. In these OSes, if you click on a rpm package, it installs.

* Anything else gets a menu with all the above options.

~~~
dmhouse
"How is a non-hacker end user supposed to run a tarball?"

How about they wait until available through their distribution's package
manager?

~~~
nailer
Because this can take up to six months or longer, and people want to use the
software they're being asked by Firefox's marketing to use.

Most people don't wait 6 months. They use articles like the one mentioned, and
are more likely to encounter poor-quality Firefox as a result.

------
andyking
This blog post is just copied verbatim from:
[http://tombuntu.com/index.php/2009/07/15/install-
firefox-35-...](http://tombuntu.com/index.php/2009/07/15/install-
firefox-35-in-ubuntu-904-using-ubuntuzilla/) \- except the original has a
better written introduction.

~~~
tan1337
Well the blog includes the original author. Only the steps are copied here,
not everything.

------
defrex
uh, apt-get install firefox-3.5

Works like a charm for me. Flash too.

~~~
jfno67
Yes it works (that is what I did too), but the user-agent is:

Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.9.1) Gecko/20090701 Ubuntu/9.04
(jaunty) Shiretoko/3.5 GTB5

I don't care and don't mind waiting for the meta-package to point to 3.5, but
maybe some do.

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thenduks
My version:

\- wget
[http://www.mozilla.com/products/download.html?product=firefo...](http://www.mozilla.com/products/download.html?product=firefox-3.5&os=linux&lang=en-
US)

\- make && sudo make install

\- change symlink at /usr/bin/firefox to point to new binary

~~~
tan1337
Will the updates work in this case ?

~~~
gasull
No if you mean the Ubuntu updates for Firefox. The add-on updates will.

~~~
tan1337
No i mean the firefox updates!

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ieatpizza
Wow, the major underlying flaws of Linux really come out when you try to do a
simple thing like update Firefox! Repositories and software managers is the
only way to ensure that Linux will not compete with Windows.

