Future of Firefox Australis and LinuxMint

Chat about just about anything else
Forum rules
Do not post support questions here. Before you post read the forum rules. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 30 days after creation.
Eggnog
Level 2
Level 2
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 6:52 pm

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by Eggnog »

So is Pale Moon just for Windows?
DaComboMan

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by DaComboMan »

This page seems to say that it is for Linux too:
http://www.palemoon.org/contributed-builds.shtml
Eggnog
Level 2
Level 2
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 6:52 pm

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by Eggnog »

Huh. I missed that page. Thanks. I think I may download it and give it a try, just for fun.
DaComboMan

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by DaComboMan »

After all this open rambling... wonder what LinuxMint will do when Asstralis comes out?

Do hope there's a way to stop Firefox from updating to 29 and for newcomers to have the choice of installing previous version.
Previous1

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by Previous1 »

After all this open rambling... wonder what LinuxMint will do when Asstralis comes out?
Mint will do what Ubuntu does, as it follows their repos. And Ubuntu will do what Mozilla does.
User avatar
Night Wing
Level 4
Level 4
Posts: 474
Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 10:21 pm
Location: Piney Woods of Southeast Texas

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by Night Wing »

I plan on ignoring the update for Australis for Firefox 29.0 in Mint. I do know about the add-on called Classic Theme Restorer, but I don't want to depend on lots of add-ons to make Firefox look like the present one in version (28.0).

Add-on authors sometimes don't support their add-ons in newer versions of Firefox. My favorite add-on is NoSquint and the maximum version number for Firefox now is version (27.0) which is on page 5 in the Add-on Compatibility Report in the link below.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... all&page=5

I know SolydXK, when they update Solyd on April 15th, they have already planned to have in their repository, Firefox 24 ESR (extended support release) versions so Australis won't be seen until Firefox 31 ESR is released. If one chooses to use the Firefox 24 ESR versions in Solyd on April 15, it will automatically remove the usual looking and present 28.0 version and replace it with new ESR version of Firefox.

There is another Gecko based browser that is built on the Firefox 24 ESR versions of Firefox and that one is linux Pale Moon. It will not have the new Australis UI look and the author of Pale Moon says when Firefox 31 ESR is released, if the Australis UI is in these versions, he will fork Pale Moon. The author of the Pale Moon browser doesn't like Australis either because of all the things taken out of it (coding wise), like removing the Add-on bar and other things, to get ready for Australis. I use linux Pale Moon 24.4.2 as my default browser in both Mint and SolydX.
Linux Mint 21.3 (Virginia) Xfce
MX Linux 23.2 (Libretto) Xfce
Linux Debian 12.5 (Bookworm) Xfce
InkKnife
Level 5
Level 5
Posts: 741
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2012 5:24 pm

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by InkKnife »

Personally I am not enthused by what I have seen in previews and screen shots. A BIG reason why I dislike Chrome is the neutered UI you have to deal with on the Windows or Linux versions, the OSX release has a standard menu bar as per typical application design.
This worries me because, as far as I am concerned, Firefox is the only good Linux browser. I have tried them all and none fail to bug me in some critical area. If FF goes to crap then there will be no good Linux browsers and then where does that leave me?
Holding my nose and going back to Macs I guess.
I am holding out some hope in the form of the Linux PaleMoon port project.
I have been using Linux for three years now and really, really like it. I have been able to work with the software limitations we have without much issue, new habits were formed, new applications mastered. But Linux without a great browser is a hump I cannot get over. I hope I am just borrowing trouble but things are looking kinda grim from my chair right now.
i7 3770, 12GB of ram, 256GB SSD, 64GB SSD, 750GB HDD, 1TB HDD, Cinnamon.
User avatar
kmb42vt
Level 5
Level 5
Posts: 974
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2009 11:15 am
Location: Vermont
Contact:

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by kmb42vt »

DaComboMan wrote:After all this open rambling... wonder what LinuxMint will do when Asstralis comes out?

Do hope there's a way to stop Firefox from updating to 29 and for newcomers to have the choice of installing previous version.
Nothing automatically updates on Linux Mint. The user has to review any pending updates when they become available and then start the update process themselves. So, when the Firefox 29 update is shown in Mint's update manager (MintUpdate), right-click on the Firefox entry and click "Ignore updates for this package" and it will hide the update. Easy enough. :)
"Humph. Choice, it is the quintessential Linux delusion, simultaneously the source of it's greatest strength, and it's greatest weakness." (All apologies to The Architect)
DaComboMan

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by DaComboMan »

Sounds good to me, thanks! :D
Can't wait for next LinuxMint!

BTW, this may sound a bit two-face, but i've been dabbing with Asstralis on Windows 7 32 bit over the last few days.
Although i'm not keen on the changes we've ranted about here and elsewhere, contrary to what i expected, the browser is much faster not only at loading but also at page rendering (better so than Palemoon on my laptop). Classic Theme Restorer addon removes some of the unpleasant changes. So, will i stick with 29? Maybe... :oops:
After all, if it weren't for the addons, Firefox would not be the browser we've come to enjoy.
Previous1

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by Previous1 »

better so than Palemoon on my laptop
Unsurprising, as ESR versions get no performance improvements during their lifespan.

Anyway all this fuss would be better spent at pressuring Mozilla to not lock down their Addon interface. If there's a problem it's that, not "Asstralis".
DaComboMan

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by DaComboMan »

Agreed!

Without Classic Theme Restorer, " Asstralis' " new interface is too complicated.
Having to click on exit after making changes is an extra useless step.

BTW, Palemoon has better speed (at least startup) and general performance than present Firefox.
User avatar
kmb42vt
Level 5
Level 5
Posts: 974
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2009 11:15 am
Location: Vermont
Contact:

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by kmb42vt »

Edited for clarification purposes.

About the Classic Theme Restorer extension and NoSquint. This is just to mention that I backed up my FX profile on my desktop PC, added the "Firefox Next" PPA to my Linux Mint 16 install and upgraded Firefox 28 to 29 beta 4. This is using my current FX profile, not a clean one. I have the following extensions installed (using default theme and standard plugins included in Linux Mint 16):

Adblock Plus
Add to Search Bar
AskForSanitize
BetterPrivacy
Brief
DoNotTrackMe
DownloadHelper
HTTPS-Everywhere
NoSquint
QuickJava
Secure Sanitizer
Social Fixer
Undo Closed Tabs Button
ColorZilla
Places Cleaner

So far there have been no problems except for the lack of the "Add-on" bar and therefor no access to "NoSquint" which my older eyes absolutely depend on. I then installed the "Classic Theme Restorer" and left it to default settings with the one exception of checking the "Show status on Add-ons bar (Restart Firefox)" check box under the "General UI" section in the "Main" tab. Checking this setting requires a restart of the browser and once it restarted, there was the "NoSquint" icon in the"restored" Add-on bar and NoSquint appears to work and function just fine now. I also moved the AdBlock and the ColorZilla icons down there as well as move things about on the tool bar here and there so the address field wasn't squashed any longer.

So this looks like a solution for NoSquint users who still want to use the latest release of Firefox like myself. I appreciate the recommendation of Pale Moon though. :)
"Humph. Choice, it is the quintessential Linux delusion, simultaneously the source of it's greatest strength, and it's greatest weakness." (All apologies to The Architect)
Eggnog
Level 2
Level 2
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 6:52 pm

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by Eggnog »

I've used Firefox as my browser of choice for years and years. I like it the way it is, but change is coming. Australis is going to be here in less than two weeks.

Short of actually testing out the beta(s), I've been watching video presentations about it. Actually, it may not be as bad as I initially thought. No, it's not going to be Chrome even though it may look like it at first blush. For me, I don't care if the add-on bar is gone or not. Even though it won't look and feel like the Firefox I'm used to, I'm sure I'll use it and get used to it over time. Heck, I might even end up really liking the new look and feel at some point. Yes, I'm trying to be optimistic here. :D
User avatar
xenopeek
Level 25
Level 25
Posts: 29506
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2011 3:58 am

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by xenopeek »

Eggnog, any good links for that? I've not kept up with Australis lately, but it's getting closer than I had in my mind. I don't use the add-on bar, so wouldn't miss it.
Image
User avatar
kmb42vt
Level 5
Level 5
Posts: 974
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2009 11:15 am
Location: Vermont
Contact:

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by kmb42vt »

xenopeek wrote:Eggnog, any good links for that? I've not kept up with Australis lately, but it's getting closer than I had in my mind. I don't use the add-on bar, so wouldn't miss it.
use the Firefox Next PPA to upgrade to the latest Firefox 29 beta (currently at 6):

https://launchpad.net/~mozillateam/+arc ... refox-next

I backed up my current Firefox profile and then let it upgrade the default Firefox 28 to Firefox 29 beta 6. Worked like a charm although I installed the "Classic Theme Restorer" extension developed specifically for Australis for those who want to restore some of the old interface. I need the Add-on bar for instance for the NoSquint extension which hasn't been updated to set the icon in the toolbar as yet. If things go awry then you can easily revert back to Firefox 28 and restore your profile you so wisely backed up (yes, I know you know all this but I just had to say it so I didn't feel remiss).
"Humph. Choice, it is the quintessential Linux delusion, simultaneously the source of it's greatest strength, and it's greatest weakness." (All apologies to The Architect)
DaComboMan

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by DaComboMan »

Slowly adjusting to Australis...

There are good things!

1. The new sync system works well and it's quite handy with equivalent on Nexus 7 Android as it mirrors quite well what was done on laptop.
2. Classic Restorer is a must, just be careful with latest betas (last one didn't work well). All in all, i should send the author a donation soon!.
3. Toolbar Autohide is another handy addon (if you want more room on laptop). Do hope Compact Classic comes back soon (then I'd do without Toolbar Autohide).
4. Browser speed is really a good experience (redundant but just to confirm startup and page rendering do quite well). :D
Adelante

Re: Future of Firefox Australis and LinuxMint

Post by Adelante »

Using the Classic Theme Restorer add-on, I got it to look the way I prefer. Firefox Australis certainly operates very well, quick and smooth. I am pleased. :D
Last edited by Adelante on Sat May 03, 2014 10:49 am, edited 2 times in total.
InkKnife
Level 5
Level 5
Posts: 741
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2012 5:24 pm

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by InkKnife »

The new speed and features have nothing to do with the new UI.
i7 3770, 12GB of ram, 256GB SSD, 64GB SSD, 750GB HDD, 1TB HDD, Cinnamon.
DaComboMan

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by DaComboMan »

Perhaps so, but removing some coding probably had something to do with enhanced start up and page rendering no?
InkKnife
Level 5
Level 5
Posts: 741
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2012 5:24 pm

Re: Future of Firefox Asstralis and LinuxMint

Post by InkKnife »

DaComboMan wrote:Perhaps so, but removing some coding probably had something to do with enhanced start up and page rendering no?
I highly doubt it. A GUI is a pretty thin veneer on top.
i7 3770, 12GB of ram, 256GB SSD, 64GB SSD, 750GB HDD, 1TB HDD, Cinnamon.
Locked

Return to “Open Chat”