[sudo apt install firefox] takes one hour while [sudo apt install firefox-esr] takes one minute

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sudo apt install firefox updates Firefox from Linux Mint's servers and to be precise, it either takes one minute or one full hour, but you can't predict in advance which speed are you getting today. This is on a live system, my trusty learning environment for the moment. Meanwhile sudo apt install firefox-esr downloads the same thing from Debian's servers and never takes more than a minute. This is my experience. It places a different install of Firefox the start menu called Firefox ESR next to the default install called Firefox Web Browser.

According to an old discussion I've found which is likely no longer relevant, Debian does not host a Firefox repository, it only hosts an Iceweasel (Debian branded version of Firefox) repository. This is no longer the case:

Firefox issue resolution

Debian users who performed a dist-upgrade in June 2016 received the following system message. According to Chris Hoffman of PC World: After a decade, Debian and Mozilla are burying the hatchet. Iceweasel is about to re-assume its proper name.[29]

iceweasel (45.0esr-1) unstable; urgency=medium

* The iceweasel package was replaced with the firefox-esr package.

* Preferences under /etc/iceweasel/prefs will need to be copied manually
to /etc/firefox-esr.
* Other customizations under /etc/iceweasel will need additional manual
steps, through CCK2 or addons.

So Linux Mint doesn't need to host a separate Firefox repository anymore especially if for whatever reason the fast download of updates cannot be guaranteed (I understand it's free software and budgets are limited, but it may be a configuration error as well) as Debian and Mozilla buried the hatchet four years ago. Since more people use Debian than LMDE (so they are either more mindful of their infrastructure or maybe they happen to have wealthier sponsors ), downloads from Debian's servers are always fast while downloading from Linux Mint's servers is either similarly fast or very slow, but the point is you can't predict which end of the stick are you getting today. At least in my experience. Maybe you want to change the defaults.

[antikythera]

The Mint build is also esr, use a local mirror instead of the default settings in Software Sources to speed things up. If one doesn't work well, try the next fastest in the list instead.

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Update on my first post. This is what to do, this is what gives me an up to date Firefox, this is interesting. Steps:

1. Fire up a live LMDE system
2. sudo apt update
3. sudo apt remove firefox
4. You are almost done. Now all you have to do is to delete the Firefox icon from the taskbar and from the Menu replace it with the Firefox ESR and you can start Firefox ESR, updated to its latest version. Note this is Firefox from Debian, not Linux Mint, you'll be noticing the difference by it not showing you Linux Mint's Firefox start page, but the stock Firefox start page itself.

That's it. I find it interesting that essentially sudo apt remove firefox is what installs you Firefox ESR from Debian's repositories, fast. If I understand what has happened. So the sudo apt install firefox-esr command isn't required.

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@antikythera, thank you for letting me know about Software Sources! I didn't know about it, but glancing at it suggests it contains some advanced features for advanced users which a beginner certainly shouldn't rely on when trying out a new distro. I suggest Occam's razor to be used as a software design principle. In other words, why do something in a more complicated way when you can do it the simple way, too? It means LDME by default should use Debian's firefox-esr repository instead of rolling its own.

I understand the reason behind LDME rolling their own Firefox repository may had to do something with Debian and Firefox having a beef with each other back then, Debian having used a rebranded version of Firefox called Iceweasel, but Linux Mint/LMDE users would have expected stock Firefox, not some weird Debian rebranded version of it, so you had to roll your own repository. Which was totally fine back then in 2016, but this is all ancient history by now as stock firefox-esr has been available as a standard Debian repo since the last four years. Why roll your own Firefox if you use Debian's default repositories for all the other basic software? This doesn't seem logical to me. Does this qualify as a legitimate bug report or in better words, improvement request?

[AndyMH]

@antikythera, thank you for letting me know about Software Sources! I didn't know about it, but glancing at it suggests it contains some advanced features for advanced users which a beginner certainly shouldn't rely on when trying out a new distro.

To switch to a different mirror, it's as simple as admin > software sources and clicking on either main or base and selecting from list?

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To switch to a different mirror, it's as simple as admin > software sources and clicking on either main or base and selecting from list?

Thank you! OK. But this is not what I wanted to get to with this thread. Not at all.