Installing Firefox on RPM based Linux distributions

So, I have been using Firefox for quite some time now. In fact from Nov 2004 when v 1.0 was released. There is much written about its awesomeness in many places on the web. And then I have been using Mandriva Linux from about the same time now, usually in a dual boot env with Windows.

Now whenever an update for Firefox is released, I get my Windows FF updated in a jiffy. But with Mandriva it's a different story. Both being different products with different Development and QA cycles, it takes quite some time for the official FF update to be available in Mandriva.

Of course I can always download the latest version straight from the Firefox site and use it. Installation, I thought was tricky, but now it seems easy-peasy, knowing where to put the stuffs.

Currently I am running Mageia, a forked out distro of Mandriva, while I am waiting for the 2011 Mandriva to be released. Mageia, like Mandriva uses urpmi for installing and updating RPM packages.

So, once we have the latest FF downloaded for our distro usually from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/fx/, just this is what needs to be done once we browse to the path where the firefox*.tar.bz2 file was downloaded -

[mrigs@pragjyotish Downloads]$ su
Password:
[root@pragjyotish Downloads]# tar -xvjf firefox-6.0.tar.bz2 -C /usr/lib

tar as we know is the Tape ARchiver command in Linux

And the options:
x - extract
v - verbose output (lists all files as they are extracted)
j - deals with bzipped file
f - read from a file, rather than a tape device
C - extracts to a directory path

So, these sequence of commands would extract the contents of the firefox-6.0.tar.bz2 archive and place it in the /usr/lib path in the firefox directory. The contents are usually overwritten and the folder usually retains it's permissions (755 / drwxr-xr-x). The related symlink (/usr/bin/firefox) to which all shortcuts point to, does not need any modifications.

I am using this in Mageia but the same can also be used in Mandriva and I'd assume other RPM based distros will also have the same directory structure making the aforementioned sequence of commands effective.

Happy browsing.

Almost time for an upgrade, and a test drive

Two recent FLOSS announcements has me excited - maiden release of Mageia and the Beta3 version of Mandriva 2011. Means I have something new (nothing geeky, I assure you) to write about. It's about time I did some justice to the fact that I earn my livelihood from a related industry. Read on.

Would have loved to see Mandriva announcing a final 2011 version by now. But, considering the fact that it has recently been into too much of a turmoil, this nearer to stable release is more than welcome. For the uninitiated, Mandriva is a Linux distribution specializing in the desktop OS segment. It has also made some foray into the  corporate market providing server class solutions to a few medium and large organizations.

Mandriva Logo

Sales pitch aside, Mandriva has always been my distro of choice whenever I wanted Linux on my personal computer, from the days I started using one of it's earlier avatar, Mandrake 7.0. During those college days, besides the learning motive, Mandriva gave me a better looking option against the rather dull Windoze XP (and the duller 98). And then, unlike other distros of those days, it let me play MP3s, watch videos and could 'see' all the FAT32 partitions without much of the geeky mount magic. It got me hooked and I have remained faithful ever since. The reasons have remained pretty much the same over the years with a few minor geeky additions. Look and feel is one big factor influencing my choice of distros and I have preferred it's bluish look to the rather dull brownish default look of Ubuntu. A default brown setup somehow does not strike any chords with me, even to attempt any customization. How I wish Mandriva had a large and strong user base as Ubuntu. It's an easy to use, effective and great looking distro and that is why I spare no opportunity to let people know about it (noticed the Mandriva logo on this blog?).

Mageia, who? For those of you who never heard of Mandriva, I would understand it'd not be wrong to assume that this is the first time you are hearing of Mageia. Mageia, is also a Linux distribution, recently forked out from Mandriva.  

Logo design by Olivier Faurax

The often tumultuous financial situation of Mandriva, led some of its employees and loyal community members to fork out Mageia as an independent community-centered distro. Besides having it's root in Mandriva, this community driven nature is what makes Mageia appealing to me. I wish it luck and hope it fares better than Mandriva.

I am all set to download both these distros and install them on the very first opportunity I get. I'd give myself a couple of weeks to clear out a few priorities and make some space in my bloated laptop, before taking the plunge.

Be it Mageia, Mandriva or Ubuntu, or for that matter even Android, giving us, the users the ability to influence decisions and directions is what enthralls me the most about FLOSS (free/libre/open-source software), and Linux in particular. FLOSS, in fact is about letting people make their choices.