Firefox stable instead of ESR

[cbrace]

Hi all,

The default version of Firefox in LMDE 3 is the Extended Support Release, which is currently at v60.7

I don't see a option for installing "stable", which is the default in Mint 18.1, and is currently at v67.

I would prefer to run stable on my two systems running LMDE 3.

There are instructions on the Debian site for installing the current stable version Firefox on debian manually. But if possible, I would like to add a repo, which would make doing updates a lot easier.

Any ideas?

[axisofevil]

AFAIK the esr version of Firefox is the stable version.

[cbrace]

Whatever. I'm looking for a way for keeping up with the current version of FF, which is now at 67.0.1

[arifur]

Most times Firefox ESR will work fine. If you need to have latest Firefox for some specific reason then you can just compile yourself. You can give Debian binaries a try, although I am not sure if it will work or not

[cbrace]

I guess I'm not making myself very clear here.

Firefox v60 ESR is now more than year old. Firefox has added some interesting features since then.

As I indicated above, Ubuntu-based Mint is currently at FF v67.

I can easily download and install the stable current from the FF site, but then I would have to keep it updated manually, which is not ideal.

It would be nice if there was a way to install in LMDE the current stable version from a (3rd party?) repo instead of ESR, but apparently that is not possible. Will investigate further.

[cbrace]

OK, I now have FF current stable (v67.0.2) installed on LMD3, instead of the much older ESR.

I removed the latter with apt, then downloaded a tar file of the v67 from the Firefox site.

This I unpacked into a subdir of my home directory, ~/firefox. It appears that if you do this install here rather than, for example, a system-wide location such as /opt it can keep itself updated.

However, at this point you can't select it as the default web browser in Preferred Applications. You need to create a desktop file. This is what I came up with:

Code: Select all

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=Firefox
GenericName=Web Browser
Exec=/home/colin/firefox/firefox %u
Icon=firefox
Terminal=false
Type=Application
MimeType=text/html;text/xml;application/xhtml+xml;application/vnd.mozilla.xul+xml;text/mml;x-scheme-handler/http;x-scheme-handler/https;
StartupNotify=true
Categories=Network;WebBrowser;
Keywords=web;browser;internet;
Actions=new-window;new-private-window;

[Desktop Action new-window]
Name=New Window
Exec=/home/colin/firefox/firefox --new-window %u

[Desktop Action new-private-window]
Name=New Private Window
Exec=/home/colin/firefox/firefox --private-window %u

After you create this, you have to reload cinnamon, otherwise it doesn't show up on the Cinnamon Menu. Now you can configure it as the default browser.

This page got me going in the right direction: How To Get Firefox Quantum On Debian Stable

[axisofevil]

Remember to repeat the download & compile every time a security fix or substantial update occurs.

Good luck!

[Schultz]

cbrace wrote:
Firefox v60 ESR is now more than year old. Firefox has added some interesting features since then.

That is a matter of opinion. I know a lot of people that would disagree.

[cbrace]

Remember to repeat the download & compile every time a security fix or substantial update occurs.

Fwiw, no need to compile! I downloaded the generic Linux 64-bit binary from the firefox site. Runs fine from the box!

As I wrote above, if you install it is as user rather than as root, it appears to keep itself updated. Will confirm this in due time.

Good luck!

Thank you!

[Flemur]

cbrace wrote:
Firefox v60 ESR is now more than year old. Firefox has added some interesting features since then.

That is a matter of opinion. I know a lot of people that would disagree.

I just ditched FF 67 and went to v60 esr; they made 67 slightly worse than 60.