Browsers and Deb packages.
Forum: Apps
Topic: Browsers and Deb packages.
started by: PaulFXH
Posted by PaulFXH on Aug. 10 2007,19:23
The main browser that came pre-installed with my DSL 3.4 is Firefox 1.0.6 which is a very old version.Is there any reason I cannot upgrade Firefox to 2.0.0.5 ?
Now, as it happens, Opera is my preferred browser but I have not yet been able to install it in DSL. Even though I did the "Upgrade to GNU Utils" and the "Enable Apt" things, I still can't find how to install a Deb package (something like GDebi).
Can somebody please help me with this?
Thanks
Paul
Posted by JohnnyH on Aug. 10 2007,21:03
Not very optimistic I'm afraid 
Firefox 2.0.0.5 needs libraries that are *considerably* changed since those on which DSL is based.
Don't even try to do it by downloading the current Debian 'stable' ('Etch') which I see at the time of writing is 2.0.0.6
You might be able to do it from the firefox tarball, run it in a terminal and see what missing libraries it reports. You are likely to need several passes to reveal these successively, and the worst case is that you might have to compile libraries for libraries for libraries ...
... and if I remember - I stand to be corrected - it expects Xorg which is architecturally different to the X11 in DSL, in which case you have no chance anyway.
I seem to remember getting Opera 8.54 (if you can still find it) to install, with selective upgrade of its dependencies *only* with Debian 'oldstable' ('Sarge') packages. But whatever you do, do *not* try to upgrade the whole system to Sarge - things would definitely break (been there, done that, ... ).
Posted by lucky13 on Aug. 10 2007,21:34
| Quote |
| The main browser that came pre-installed with my DSL 3.4 is Firefox 1.0.6 which is a very old version. |
It isn't very old, it's very stable. What's it *missing* aside from bleeding edge sexiness? Look at firefox' changelogs and notice that subsequent versions have had security patches for security patches -- including the very quick jump to 2.0.0.6 from 2.0.0.5.
| Quote |
| Is there any reason I cannot upgrade Firefox to 2.0.0.5 ? |
Aside from the fact that it requires GTK2, no. There's a GTK1 version of firefox 2.0 in MyDSL. Is that recent enough for you?
BTW, you should probably know that dpkg for DSL is based on Woody. You certainly won't find firefox 2.0.0.6 in Woody or Sarge. If you're put off by firefox 1.0.6, I have a feeling you're going to be very disappointed by the versions of apps you'll find in Woody. Try MyDSL.
| Quote |
| Now, as it happens, Opera is my preferred browser but I have not yet been able to install it in DSL. |
You shouldn't have any trouble at all if you'd just use the version in MyDSL.
----------
JohnnyH
| Quote |
| ...the worst case is that you might have to compile libraries for libraries for libraries ... |
Doubtful. Very doubtful.
| Quote |
| I seem to remember getting Opera 8.54 (if you can still find it) to install |
Why would you jump through hoops with Debian to get something already available -- a very recent (more recent than 8.54) version, iirc -- in MyDSL? Just checked: opera 9 is in UCI.
Posted by PaulFXH on Aug. 10 2007,23:03
Thanks for the replies.Actually, I use Opera and I really don't use Firefox very much at all (except for things that Opera doesn't handle very well -like some Google apps). So, FF being old is not a major concern for me.
However, I really do like the Speeddial in Opera (9.20 and above) and find browsing without it to be awkward.
I've upgraded to Opera 9.0 (as lucky13 suggested) and it's fine but no Speeddial.
I've also upgraded FF to version 2.0 which does have Speeddial. Interestingly though, I can't get Speeddial to actually work.
Posted by stupid_idiot on Aug. 11 2007,00:44
Hi Paul:I think the latest version might work on DSL:
< http://www.opera.com/download/?platform=linux >
(Select distribution and vendor: Debian -> Debian 3.0 (Woody)
Also, be sure to check "Download this package in TAR.GZ format".)
The "dpkg" command is not in DSL by default; you need 'MyDSL->System->dsl-dpkg.dsl'.
Also, the .deb might complain of 'wrong' library versions because some libraries in DSL are of a later version than Woody.
Posted by curaga on Aug. 11 2007,06:52
Firefox 2.0.0.4 worked just fine with gtk2-0705.dsl from MyDSL, so 2.0.0.6 will too.Opera 9.1 worked nicely on plain DSL, so I think 9.22 will too
Posted by PaulFXH on Aug. 11 2007,10:21
I'm very happy! 
I got Opera 9.22 installed and it seems to be working fine (including speeddial).
Nevertheless, there are a few "issues" where I'd appreciate your
comments:
1) The only way I can get Opera 9.22 to launch is through a terminal. No icon appeared on install, nor any reference to it in any of the dropdown menus on the desktop.
2) I had first installed Opera 8.52 (My DSL), then Opera 9.0 (UCI) then Opera 9.22 (tar.gz from Opera website). However, they installed as separate apps rather than the newer version installing over the older one. Strange. Is this normal?
3) Yesterday, I shutdown the computer with both Opera 8.52 and Opera 9.0 installed which gave TWO Opera icons on the desktop. Today, when I booted into DSL, the Opera 9.0 icon had gone AWOL -- nowhere to be found. Should I have manually uninstalled the earlier version? If so, how?
Thanks
Paul
Posted by curaga on Aug. 11 2007,10:41
1 & 2) it's normal, since the generic Opera tarball was not made for DSL, whereas MyDSL extensions were. You could just use the icon & menu entry from 9.0 by just modifying the paths..3) it's a uci, so it was unmounted on shutdown, and it seems it's not in your /mydsl dir so it was not automatically mounted..
Posted by curaga on Aug. 11 2007,10:43
The generic Opera tarball includes some icons - one xpm and some pngs - but the icon setting file included is only compatible with kde, gnome and xfce..
Posted by PaulFXH on Aug. 11 2007,14:50
OK, I modified the properties of the Opera 8.52 icon on the Desktop and now it's an icon for Opera 9.22. So, that's perfect.I need to uninstall the two earlier versions of Opera which I'm never going to use but haven't yet come across how to uninstall things in DSL.
BTW, another one slight problem with Opera in DSL is that (on my computer at least) no minimize/shutdown buttons appear in the top RH corner. So to shutdown Opera I have to go File>Exit and I cannot minimize which is a pity.
(Note that these buttons do appear in the two versions of Firefox I tried).
Posted by lucky13 on Aug. 11 2007,16:00
http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/Removing_A_MyDSL_Extension
Posted by roberts on Aug. 11 2007,16:10
| Quote |
| BTW, another one slight problem with Opera in DSL is that (on my computer at least) no minimize/shutdown buttons appear in the top RH corner. So to shutdown Opera I have to go File>Exit and I cannot minimize which is a pity. |
It is a known issue with Fluxbox, use the control key sequence or, try the other window manager JWM