ARRrrrrrG (Linux)

[Pat-inCO]

Many of you know that I run Linux, and have been for over eight years. Well, I have both a
lap-top (which I am on now) and a desk-top(DT) that I prefer running. Well, I keep the DT
up with the latest levels of Linux (update is seldom more than 10 minutes). SO, when they
put out a new level of Firefox (common to Linux and Winderz) I grabbed it. Not to good an
idea . . . . . this time.

The new Firefox will not display . . . any . . . web page. It hangs up, telling me it is waiting
for the web site to respond. Well, first thing I did was to bring in a Linux only browser to
see what it said. It told me I needed a file that I had never needed before, AND when I
ignored it and went directly to the page I wanted, it worked fine.
(Delete your favorite expletive from here)! Or even double that.

The operating system is working fine. It just doesn't talk well with the new Firefox.
I'll bet the update to fix that comes in tomorrow.

In between, I have re synchronized my DT and LT, found one or two other items I had
changed and forgot to document. Ain't computers fun?!

I'll change my recommendation from "Use Linux, you'll like it" to "Use Linux if, and only
if, you are in the top 60% of home computer users" (knowledge and experience).

None of what I had to do was difficult, it just took some time I would have rather spent at
other pursuits. :D

But then again, I now have all user data on both systems synchronized. 8)
AND I had forgotten how nice the LT is! 8) . :shock: . 8)

 

[NikA]

That is an interesting problem. Maybe something to do with the settings on your systems before you synced? I updated to Firefox 51.0.1 a couple days ago and didn't experience any problems. But then my browser is set to the "don't remember anything, ever" with me bookmarking pages I want to return to, so it's mostly just defaults and blocked plugins. I find there are significantly less targeted ads with these settings.

The accessibility of Linux is a double-edged sword for most people. Linux shows you and will allow you to delete critical system files, unlike most other OSs. People that wouldn't know how to solve any computer problem are fairly safe with this as they'll never go looking for it, but they're probably better off with an OS that makes more helpful suggestions. It's the ones that have that dangerous mix of inquisitiveness and lack of complete knowledge that accidentally do things like running 'rm -rf' on a top level folder (I had an associate in grad school nearly loose 2 years of work doing this). The smart ones know to back everything up in multiple locations to avoid this ending in disaster.

 

[Pat-inCO]

Maybe something to do with the settings on your systems before you synced?

No, I didn't re sync until after I had the problem. I have all of my user data in different
locations than the system would "normally" put them. As such, it is easy to access the
data without having to go via the OS. It also assures that should I really mess up and
let someone else into my system, they do not know where to look to find my data.

It is in Firefox itself because I created the "missing" file and had it on the Desktop, yet
am not able to view it. However, put the exact same file on the laptop, and it is fine. In
fact I managed to blow away one segment of my bookmarks and thanks to the new file I
created on the DT, was able to restore all bookmarks on the laptop, in about a minute
(includes walking time from where the DT is to where the LT is).

I have one process that I put on the LT and am now installing on the DT, that allows you
to have the system accept all cookies from all sites (keeps the site happy), and then
deletes them as you exit Firefox, keeping only the few you want (in my case, four of
them). Only problem is that some dummy found an expedited way to do that and then
forgot to document it (keeping only the slow way . . . SIGH! ). I'll learn to MAKE SURE
I keep the information, sooner than later (didn't need that a decade or two ago :roll: ).

 

[exavid]

Not terribly surprised Mozilla has been tinkering a good bit with Firefox lately. I've been using that browser since it first came out as Netscape. Still prefer it. Used to run Linux but the family liked Windows seven so switched. Too much bother to keep up three computers on different systems. I did go back to Linux when Windows 8 came out because it was so bad. All ours are on Windows 10 now. Seems to be a good system so far.

 

[BucolicBuffalo]

Somehow I managed to miss whatever problem hit you. Still running LinuxMint, and I did do a Firefox and Thunderbird update recently. I need to start thinking about replacing this hardware. It's a Core 2 Duo of some sort. Hard drives don't last forever. (knock on wood)

 

[Pat-inCO]

Still running LinuxMint, and I did do a Firefox and Thunderbird update recently.

THAT'S exactly what I've been thinking about. Mint is an excellent veersion (flavor?) to run
and all I need to do is make sure I have current copies of the communication parms for my
ISP, and copies of my bookmarks/E-mail addresses, and it would go in very quickly.

Just finished applying a "security" update and that didn't fix the problem, AND I'm running
on the DT with a different browser, so a new setup would rid me of any further interactions
with "System 76" vendor. They have excellent hardware, but leave a whole lot to be desired
when it comes to software support. Their main advantage is they put out Linux as a pre-load.

Actually, if I could find how to load the bookmarks to this browser, I would stick to this
browser, at least for a while. Oh well.

Now where's that help file . . . . . :roll:

:D

 

[Pat-inCO]

DANG!
Found an older version of Linux browser (Epiphany) and have it up and running
with an ever increasing number of bookmarks. Humm . . . May stick with it
until/unless the "stuff" from System 76 is corrected.

AND . . . it is old enough to be very stable. 8)
AND . . . uses the same display parameters as Firefox. :roll:
I would have thought Netscape/Firefox were stable,
but apparently not enough.

 

[sncup]

On this desk top machine I am running Linux mint 18.1 Cinnamon, and the Firefox is 51.0.1. Only problem noted is I cannot seem to detect my Android phone to back up its pictures.
Firefox is working fine for me, but I also use Opera and Chrome at times depending on what site I am visiting.

 

[Pat-inCO]

DANG!
Linux browser ... Epiphany

Found it uses an entirely different (to me) way of using bookmarks. Once you save
a bookmark (Ctrl+D, and you can name it what ever you want) you do not need to
use the drop-down menu to access them again. You click the current URL and
type in your identifier. It provides you with a list of options (depending on how many
you have saved with that character string in it) and you click on the one you want.

SHA-ZAM, Batman! Takes a few minutes to adjust to (very few) and you
no longer have to go through the selection tree to find the link you want.

I LIKE IT A WHOLE LOT! 8)

In fact, if I still like the bookmark interface in a week or so, Firefox will go away. 8)

Happiness is an easy to use browser (at least for computenators :D ).

 

[dougader]

I have plans to use Linux on my next laptop. Leave the wife to her computer and all the crazy stuff she downloads. Linux sounds so much cleaner. I get sick of all the garbage the Windows systems keep loading in to their systems. I feel like going back to a pager and a landline at home. Too much stuff out there in clouds and such.

 

[Pat-inCO]

I have plans to use Linux on my next laptop. Leave the wife to her computer and all the
crazy stuff she downloads. Linux sounds so much cleaner. I get sick of all the garbage the
Windows systems keep loading in to their systems. I feel like going back to a pager and a
landline at home. Too much stuff out there in clouds and such.

That's where I was eight and one half years ago.

The first week is a bit frustrating, if you have done quite a bit on winderz in command mode.
If you are using Firefox in winderz, it will be easy. In fact, I would not be changing browsers
if System 76 (Linux people I got my hardware from) had not messed up an update. In fact,
I'm on Firefox now from my LT.

I looked, once again, at Chrome and when I found out that I had no choice of IF I had to
establish a password to access the browser, AND once I got Chrome going I would have
many things, including my local printer, connected to the cloud, (delete your favorite expletive
from here) it. I went to Linux to get away from winderz, not to get into another variant of it.

 

[BucolicBuffalo]

My bookmarks sync on my computers which all run Firefox. I add one on this machine. As soon as I power the laptop up, or before I can get downstairs in the ham shack, they have the new bookmarks. So far so good. (knock on wood) LinuxMint 17.3 here with Firefox 51.0.1. I like Cinnamon also. I think I may have put LinuxMint 18 on the laptop.

Recognizing the iPhone has been a problem with the newer iPhone and iOS. Much easier to wait a few minutes and then then download pictures I take, off the Cloud.

 

[TCGuy]

Somehow I managed to miss whatever problem hit you. Still running LinuxMint, and I did do a Firefox and Thunderbird update recently. I need to start thinking about replacing this hardware. It's a Core 2 Duo of some sort. Hard drives don't last forever. (knock on wood)

Swap out your drive for an SSD. It will dramatically improve your performance, plus they don't make any sound. You'll never go back to "spinners."

 

[Pat-inCO]

Gollllllie ding dang willikers Phred . . . . only took a week and they came
out with a "security update" that fixed the problems I was having with
Firefox.

Did the "update", and everything works at least as well as it did before. :roll:

System 76 does not do customer service as well as I like. :shock: