Firefox

ontheray · 04-20-2009, 02:38 PM

I had a couple of quick questions about Firefox in Fedora 10.

First, I cant check for updates (it's greyed out). I imagine that the option is there because it can be used.

Second, there is no "options" or "preferences" under the tools menu, so I cant even figure out how to change my homepage!

How do I do these things, do I need to use the terminal to make changes?

Rome5 · 04-20-2009, 06:18 PM

Updating Firefox or any other program that is/was installed by RPM can be done with RPM. You can run a global update with 'sudo yum update' or update any specific program with 'sudo yum update <program name>'

To change settings/preferences go to Edit > Preferences.
Also typing 'about:config' into the URL bar will bring up all Firefox settings, though not as user friendly.

ontheray · 04-20-2009, 08:12 PM

Thanks,'ll give that a shot. I'm not sure what you mean by RPM. Firefox came installed with the OS. I was confused because there was not an option for settings (like in windows) and there waqs an option for updates, but I can't select it.

**Bartender** · 04-20-2009, 08:31 PM

I don't know how Fedora handles it. Probably the same as Ubuntu. In Ubuntu, i don't worry about having the latest version of Firefox. It takes a few months for the developers to check out a new version of Firefox and include it in the repositories. You risk breaking things by trying to manually install the latest versions of applications.
For instance, the XP side of our desktop is running OpenOffice 3.0 The Ubuntu side is running OO 2.4. Not a big deal to me.
Sometimes people just gotta have the latest, greatest version. Just be aware that there are risks. You can often get away with it, but it's safest for beginners to go with whatever's available from the repositories.

Rome5 · 04-20-2009, 11:21 PM

RPM and yum are the package management and tools used by Fedora to install, update, and remove software. Just like Ubuntu uses dpkg & apt. When you install a program using yum (yum install), the programs information (dependencies / version / etc...) is stored. That way when you run an update, yum knows what version of the program you have installed and what dependencies were installed along with it. This keeps your system up-to-date, since yum can compare versions in your local database to that of Fedora's repo. If their's a newer release in Fedora's repo, your system will be updated. That goes for all the software you have installed on your system right now. Including Firefox.

Point being, you can update firefox directly (without using yum), but yum will no longer be aware of what version you're running. Which can cause problems later on. Besides, when Fedora releases a program or update for a program, it's usually gone through testing prior to it's release. This, for the most part, means stability for you.

ontheray · 04-21-2009, 01:25 PM

Thanks for all the information. I need to start troubleshooting my system, and currently I am experiencing the most problems with Firefox ( extreme lag in scrolling, slow to load). I am just checking everything out to make sure my system is stable (it's not exceptionally stable). The game "nibbles" causes the system to basically freeze up. I can still move the mouse, but not do anything else.

I have Fedora 10 by the way.

04-20-2009, 02:38 PM	#1 (permalink)
ontheray Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 36 OS: vista	Firefox I had a couple of quick questions about Firefox in Fedora 10. First, I cant check for updates (it's greyed out). I imagine that the option is there because it can be used. Second, there is no "options" or "preferences" under the tools menu, so I cant even figure out how to change my homepage! How do I do these things, do I need to use the terminal to make changes?

04-20-2009, 06:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
Rome5 Alternative Computing Team Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Denver.CO Posts: 311 OS: Arch linux	Re: Firefox Updating Firefox or any other program that is/was installed by RPM can be done with RPM. You can run a global update with 'sudo yum update' or update any specific program with 'sudo yum update <program name>' To change settings/preferences go to Edit > Preferences. Also typing 'about:config' into the URL bar will bring up all Firefox settings, though not as user friendly. __________________ Arch64 ~ PekWM

04-20-2009, 08:12 PM	#3 (permalink)
ontheray Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 36 OS: vista	Re: Firefox Thanks,'ll give that a shot. I'm not sure what you mean by RPM. Firefox came installed with the OS. I was confused because there was not an option for settings (like in windows) and there waqs an option for updates, but I can't select it.

04-20-2009, 08:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
Bartender Mentally divergent Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Chehalis, WA, USA Posts: 1,285 OS: W2K, Ubuntu 8.04	Re: Firefox I don't know how Fedora handles it. Probably the same as Ubuntu. In Ubuntu, i don't worry about having the latest version of Firefox. It takes a few months for the developers to check out a new version of Firefox and include it in the repositories. You risk breaking things by trying to manually install the latest versions of applications. For instance, the XP side of our desktop is running OpenOffice 3.0 The Ubuntu side is running OO 2.4. Not a big deal to me. Sometimes people just gotta have the latest, greatest version. Just be aware that there are risks. You can often get away with it, but it's safest for beginners to go with whatever's available from the repositories.

04-20-2009, 11:21 PM	#5 (permalink)
Rome5 Alternative Computing Team Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Denver.CO Posts: 311 OS: Arch linux	Re: Firefox RPM and yum are the package management and tools used by Fedora to install, update, and remove software. Just like Ubuntu uses dpkg & apt. When you install a program using yum (yum install), the programs information (dependencies / version / etc...) is stored. That way when you run an update, yum knows what version of the program you have installed and what dependencies were installed along with it. This keeps your system up-to-date, since yum can compare versions in your local database to that of Fedora's repo. If their's a newer release in Fedora's repo, your system will be updated. That goes for all the software you have installed on your system right now. Including Firefox. Point being, you can update firefox directly (without using yum), but yum will no longer be aware of what version you're running. Which can cause problems later on. Besides, when Fedora releases a program or update for a program, it's usually gone through testing prior to it's release. This, for the most part, means stability for you. __________________ Arch64 ~ PekWM

04-21-2009, 01:25 PM	#6 (permalink)
ontheray Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 36 OS: vista	Re: Firefox Thanks for all the information. I need to start troubleshooting my system, and currently I am experiencing the most problems with Firefox ( extreme lag in scrolling, slow to load). I am just checking everything out to make sure my system is stable (it's not exceptionally stable). The game "nibbles" causes the system to basically freeze up. I can still move the mouse, but not do anything else. I have Fedora 10 by the way.