Firefox auto update

[MachuMan]

Hello,
Quick question for ya:

Basically when i was still using windows i remember firefox automatically updating itself,
However in my current linux setup it doesnt currently seem to be able to do this,
Now from the quick look i have had it appears to be because as a normal user i dont have the write privelages to update the firefox file.

So to that end which would be the best way of updating firefox, indeed will any of these actually work?:-

1. running it as root every now and again
2. giving my normal user write access to the firefox file
3. reinstalling firefox in my home directory

[davecs]

If your distro is on the ball, it will be in your update repositories. The alternative will be to uninstall using your distros software manager and re-install it manually (not that difficult as it is precompiled). Then you can re-install over the top everytime it is updated. You will need to do the re-install as root, but you will never have to browse as root.

[MachuMan]

Thanks for your reply
That would be the ideal solution, but for some reason Mandrake 10.1 official doesnt have firefox or thunderbird in its update/main repositories, (That i have seen anyway) so i installed it using the installer provided with firefox.
Maybe if i tried community or LE2005? Does anyone know if these repositories have firefox and thunderbird in them?

[bigjohn]

Yes, I believe it does, but as to whether someones made the mandrakised rpm for the latest version is a different question.

Also, you might find that it's not in the main or update repository. Ideally, you should go to http://easyurpmi.zarb.org/ and then just follow the instructions i.e. main, contrib, updates, jpackage' plf-free and plf-nonfree (both the free and non-free plf sources are a bit of a misnomer, as that is, as I understand it just a thing about the US copyright laws etc). Follow the instructions and get a mirror for all of them, including the plf (their packages used to be more up to date than the actual mandrake ones and in some cases also have better "eye candy").

Code: Select all

urpmi.addmedia plf-free ftp://ftp.free.fr/pub/Distributions_Linux/plf/mandrake/free/10.2 with hdlist.cz
urpmi.addmedia plf-nonfree ftp://plf.time4t.net/pub/plf/mandrake/non-free/10.2 with hdlist.cz
urpmi.addmedia --update updates ftp://anorien.csc.warwick.ac.uk/Mandrakelinux/official/updates/LE2005/main_updates/ with media_info/hdlist.cz
urpmi.addmedia main ftp://anorien.csc.warwick.ac.uk/Mandrakelinux/official/2005/i586/media/main with media_info/hdlist.cz
urpmi.addmedia contrib ftp://anorien.csc.warwick.ac.uk/Mandrakelinux/official/2005/i586/media/contrib with media_info/hdlist.cz
urpmi.addmedia jpackage ftp://anorien.csc.warwick.ac.uk/Mandrakelinux/official/2005/i586/media/jpackage with media_info/hdlist.cz

In fact, if your system is a pentium 4 i.e. you're using i586 packages then just copy and paste the above stuff into a terminal when it's su'd into root and that should show you just about all the packages you'd ever want! (but you should still upgrade to the 2005LE and then follow the instructions at easy urpmi to get something like the above for it - the code above is for 10.1 official).

regards

John

[MachuMan]

Thanks john,
I'm already urpmi'd up, but it never seems to have the latest programs would i be better off with the comunity urpmi? are they more up to date?

[bigjohn]

As I understand it, that would be right i.e. they release the community before the official version, but as you're refering to 10.1 it's out of date anyway.

Mandriva 2005LE is what is effectively mandrake 10.2 and even that's not as up to date as some other distros - thats why I scrounged a copy of SuSE 9.3 Pro off a mate of mine and changed to that - because it appeared just before the 2005LE and has stuff like kde 3.4 and an array of other bits that are a little more up to date.

In truth, it's 6 of 1, and half a dozen of the other. The YaST software update works in a very similar way to URPMI so I'm happy with that, but even SuSE haven't (last time I checked) produced the updated "SuSEised" rpm for the current 1.0.6 of firefox. Fortunately, I can just get the package and then theres a "right click option" for me to "install package with YaST", so the system recognises the newer version etc.

Of course, if you really are into cutting edge, then look into Gentoo, because if you follow the install handbook religiously, you should be able to get it installed. It usually has the most up to date stuff available, plus theres a way to mod the config to make it bleeding (rather than just cutting) edge. You'd probably want to start with a stage 3 + GRP install. The only downside is that it's based on source, so if you tell it to do the updates etc, then it gets the packages and only then does it compile them - which depending on the package(s) can take a while (I used to do that over night). Plus it make you learn lots, as so much stuff has to be done manually i.e. not many automated config tools.

Oh, and just for info, theres an actual software update facility in firefox. I hasn't mattered whether I've tried it with my partners laptop (Win98SE) or my aunts 2 week old 64bit evesham system, it doesn't seem to work - well I haven't managed to make it work.

regards

John

p.s. Oh and if you just want to stick with mandrake/mandriva then I understand that Mandriva 2006 is now in beta, so the community version can't be far away.

[nelz]

Of course, if you really are into cutting edge, then look into Gentoo, because if you follow the install handbook religiously, you should be able to get it installed. It usually has the most up to date stuff available, plus theres a way to mod the config to make it bleeding (rather than just cutting) edge.

The stable Gentoo tree isn't particularly cutting edge, it's.. well... stable. Switch to testing and you get the latest stuff.

The only downside is that it's based on source, so if you tell it to do the updates etc, then it gets the packages and only then does it compile them - which depending on the package(s) can take a while (I used to do that over night).

Updates aren't a problem, because you can leave it compiling the new version while still using the old one. Installing a new piece of software the first time can be a pain if there are a lot of dependencies to compile.

Someone was raving about Tomboy at the last Liverpool LUG meeting. I tried to install it when I got home and found it had about a dozen dependencies (it's a Mono app and I had Mono stuff installed) so it took around 20 minutes to install it all, which was just time to make a brew and catch up on my email.

Some of the bigger packages, including Firefox, are available as binaries, so installation is almost instant.

Plus it make you learn lots, as so much stuff has to be done manually i.e. not many automated config tools.

The first release of the new Gentoo installer was this week. I've not tried it yet, but it appears an ambitious project, using one backend with curses, GTK and web front ends.