Obviously if you are currently using any recent version of Ubuntu, you already have Firefox installed. However it is not the latest version of Firefox. By default, Ubuntu only installs Firefox 3.0.*. As of writing this article, Mozilla’s latest version is 3.5.2! This is fine for the regular user to keep 3.0.* on their computers, but for those who like to keep up with the latest updates a small bit of work must be done to get the latest version running smoothly.
There are also quite a few new features in the new version such as Undo closed window, forget this site, tab tear away, better session management, private browsing mode, better color profiles, the Tracemonkey Javascript engine, geo-locations, and many HTML 5 features! There are more obviously, but if you would like to see all of them I would suggest that you check out the Mozilla ‘New Features‘ page to read more. So we can see there are several reasons to update, why not give it a try.
So with that being said, lets make it happen. Luckily the install is pretty easy!
- Add the repository
- Add the appropriate key
- Update your repository list
- Make a backup of your current Firefox configuration folder
- Install Firefox 3.5
- Navigate to “Applications >> Internet >> Shiretoko Webbrowser“
$ sudo sh -c "echo 'deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/fta/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main' >> /etc/apt/sources.list"
$ sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 632D16BB0C713DA6
Expected Output
Executing: gpg --ignore-time-conflict --no-options --no-default-keyring --secret-keyring /etc/apt/secring.gpg --trustdb-name /etc/apt/trustdb.gpg --keyring /etc/apt/trusted.gpg --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 632D16BB0C713DA6 gpg: requesting key 0C713DA6 from hkp server keyserver.ubuntu.com gpg: key 0C713DA6: public key "Launchpad PPA for Fabien Tassin" imported gpg: no ultimately trusted keys found gpg: Total number processed: 1 gpg: imported: 1 (RSA: 1)
$ sudo apt-get update
$ cp -r ~/.mozilla/firefox/ ~/firefox_backup
$ sudo apt-get install firefox-3.5
From this point on it should open up and run a quick scan to see if you have any incompatible plugins, and if they have any known updates. Some work, some don’t. However that is all, pretty simple! In my case my flash plugin worked right away without any other configuration so I don’t believe that should be an issue for anyone like can happen when trying to install Chromium in Linux.
Feel free to comment with your results and if you run into any strange bugs.
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4 Comments
Shiretoko is the codename for the first alpha release for the new Firefox that is being built on the gecko engine. Technically it isn’t “Firefox 3.5.2″ like the Windows “FireFox 3.5.2″. Its more like the equivalent, but for Linux.
The default Ubuntu Repositories only provide the latest “stable” releases. Shiretoko is of course not a stable release, however I’ve found it to be quite reliable for an alpha release. But this is exactly why we love Ubuntu so much, we get many more fun toys to play with!
Soon enough it will be made available, Just not yet. If you want to find out more, you can find more here on Mozilla’s Shiretoko page.
I an Ubuntu newbie (been using it for less than a week!) I was wondering why Firefox 3.5 isn’t in the normal Ubuntu repositories? Why not let us use the “Check For Updates” option under the Help menu (which I notice isn’t there now that I have installed this Shiretoko version either! What’s the deal there?)
Thanks for the excellent post. If only MS had half the communication skills (to the point, no filler, just spot-on good directions) you demonstrated here, I might still be using Windows.
Thanks!
[...] Install Firefox 3.5 on Ubuntu 9.04 – sucka.net 08/21/2009 Obviously if you are currently using any recent version of Ubuntu, you [...]