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Firefox now only available via snap on Ubuntu

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Re: Firefox now only available via snap on Ubuntu

#121

Post by sreevisakh »

robto wrote: post #112

I've been using NixOS for several years and one of the pain points was frequently updating software - the updates don't come out until the package definitions get updated. Last year I just started using Flatpak for those packages and it works a treat - plus, I can keep the proprietary, non-free software that I need out of my system config, which I like. Snap is a non-starter, and while I hope more software shows up p…

I really wish nix or guix had a flatpak export capability. Guix can already export several types of images like tarballs, docker images and squashfs images.

Re: Firefox now only available via snap on Ubuntu

#122

Post by sreevisakh »

rlpb wrote: post #67
adhesive_wombat wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I installed Ubuntu a few weeks ago at work because most people use it and there is some existing infrastructure around it (mostly for the target platforms, but could also be for dev machines). I have to say that coming from Arch, it's a very Windowsy experience: lots of software has to be installed by searching for "install XYZ on Ubuntu", and following some instructions that involve scary-looking command lines that…

> lots of software has to be installed by searching for "install XYZ on Ubuntu", and following some instructions that involve scary-looking command lines that mess with cryptographic keys and add repos to my configuration, or, for a real Windows experience, install from a deb and hope you remember where you got it from when it needs an update. Ironically this is exactly the problem that snaps solve; what you describe…

Snap wouldn't be facing such a big backlash if it solved those problems without adding a whole lot of others. Even worse, they completely ignore better alternatives that exist.

Re: Firefox now only available via snap on Ubuntu

#123

Post by sreevisakh »

tannhaeuser wrote: post #10

I'll be the first one to moan that browsers have become way too complex beasts. What's left of the idea that a browser is a (moderately complex) commodity item to view docs on the web bundled with your O/S of choice? Now we must update our browsers more frequently than the fscking web pages. I understand why they do it - as browsers have become kitchen sinks, their API surface has become enormous. But at the same tim…

The people you should be blaming are the ones who decide the web standards. The browsers are bloated and updated frequently because the web standards are bloated and updated frequently. That also killed off many alternative implementations. I'm sure that the requirements of the web platforms can be met without so many APIs and formats. They ruined a completely functional platform.

Re: Firefox now only available via snap on Ubuntu

#124

Post by sreevisakh »

antpls wrote: post #79
jeffparsons wrote: post #13

I've been hearing good things about modern Fedora as an alternative "boring" operating system. Maybe now is the time to make the switch.

Question regarding Fedora : I tried it in a docker environment. During some googling to troubleshoot issues, several results were found on the Red Hat commercial support website (so, not accessible). I'm afraid that a good part of advanced/niche documentations and knowledge base for troubleshooting is behind Red Hat commercial support. Is that the case in practice?

I faced the same problems with some of RH's other software. It felt like they make software needlessly complicated and then hide the troubleshooting information behind paywalls in the hopes of landing support contracts.

Re: Firefox now only available via snap on Ubuntu

#125

Post by balancesoggy »

sreevisakh wrote: post #121
robto wrote: post #112

I've been using NixOS for several years and one of the pain points was frequently updating software - the updates don't come out until the package definitions get updated. Last year I just started using Flatpak for those packages and it works a treat - plus, I can keep the proprietary, non-free software that I need out of my system config, which I like. Snap is a non-starter, and while I hope more software shows up p…

I really wish nix or guix had a flatpak export capability. Guix can already export several types of images like tarballs, docker images and squashfs images.

Flatpak works on guix. Just guix install it and then run the Firefox or any flatpak as usual using flatpak run

Re: Firefox now only available via snap on Ubuntu

#127

Post by gs17 »

account42 wrote: post #104
NGRhodes wrote: post #17

Conversely Linux Mint has agreed for Mozilla to provide debs directly for Mint. https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=4244

Good that I am not using Mint - I prefer to have a real packager who cares about my interests between Mozilla and my Firefox install.

You can use the snap for Firefox in Mint, it's just not the default.

Re: Firefox now only available via snap on Ubuntu

#128

Post by sreevisakh »

balancesoggy wrote: post #125
sreevisakh wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really wish nix or guix had a flatpak export capability. Guix can already export several types of images like tarballs, docker images and squashfs images.

Flatpak works on guix. Just guix install it and then run the Firefox or any flatpak as usual using flatpak run

That's not what I meant. I wish for guix or nix to be a way to build flatpaks.

Re: Firefox now only available via snap on Ubuntu

#129

Post by godshatter »

cies wrote: post #75
dirkf wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're against it; see for example https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=3906

tnx, good to know. then it's just my pref for KDE that holds me back :)

I'm a kde user as well, and since I'm on ubuntu and thinking about switching to something else I did a quick search to see if it was possible to run kde on mint and it appears you can. You have to add the kubuntu backports ppa ("sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports") and then you can install kde using apt ("sudo apt install kde-plasma-desktop").

I haven't tried this, so I don't know if it actually works well or not, but it is apparently possible.

Re: Firefox now only available via snap on Ubuntu

#130

Post by yoyohello13 »

forgotpwd16 wrote: post #88
yoyohello13 wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want a more "LTS" like Fedora you can stay one release behind. The previous release is still supported with security updates.

Is upgrading every two versions supported?

Fedora releases are officially supported for 1 year. If you stay one version behind current you still are supported (although you still need to upgrade every 6 months). This is what I do on my home server. My workstation is currently on 35, and my server is on 34. When 36 comes out I'll upgrade my workstation to 36 and my server to 35.

I still have a 6 month upgrade cycle on my server, but I don't need to deal with package updates changing things.

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