Firefox on Slackware

[Marinus]

Hi,

this is my first post! Last night, I finished installing Slackware on my Toshiba Sattelite laptop and it's just perfect.
I've even managed to install OpenOffice 2.0 through a installation package, but I can't seem to find something similar for Firefox.

Is there a smart way to install Firefox on Slackware?
The default installer won't help me as it does nog end in .tgz.

Thanks a lot in advance!

Marinus.

[Cabhan]

http://download.mozilla.org/?product...nux&lang=en-US

I dunno about Slack specifically (never used it), but that will download Firefox's source in a .tar.gz. If the default installer won't do it, you can do it manually:

tar xvfz <<FILE_NAME>>
cd <<NEW_FOLDER>>
./firefox-installer

I think that's the name of the script, but change it if necessary.

[deek]

Go to www.linuxpackages.net. The have a ton of slack packages and firefox is out there. Sometimes the packages are a tad bit older, but the convenience of having a binary usually outweighs that difference.

[Marinus]

Hi both,

thanks a lot for your reply; I am downloading the binary (1.0.6, newest version) right now.

@ Cabhan: Firefox's source? Is it common for Linux apps to be compiled on the machine you're using them on?

Mariuns.

[bryansmith]

http://slackware.it/en/pb/download.p...x-1.0.6-i686-1 - That is a link to the Firefox 1.0.6 Slackware package from Slackware-Current.

Sorry, this was posted just after you found a package.

Firefox's source? Is it common for Linux apps to be compiled on the machine you're using them on?

It used to be (although you can still do it). Most of the time, programs come precompiled for the package manager you are using. Though this is true, if you are using a source based distro (like Gentoo), the programs come as source.

Bryan

[Marinus]

Allright,

thanks for the info. It's amazing how more fluid Linux runs on my laptop.
It's a 1300 MHz Celeron but it behaves so much better than on XP...
I'm glad I made the switch...

Now if I could only find a precompiled ndiswrapper so I can get my Linksys USB wireless card to work!!

Marinus.

[Cabhan]

Hehe.

Linux's roots were in source-based stuff. Nowadays, there are a number of binary distributions, such as RPM, DEB, and so on.

However, some people like source-based because it allows for a bit more customization. Also, almost every Linux app is available in its source form, while fewer (though still a very large number) are available in binary form.

However, almost every single app is compiled this way:

./configure
make
su
make install

So it's not too tough .

[Marinus]

Aha,

I am pretty fluent in OpenOffice.org Basic but I have gotten pretty scared of C/++ because of VisualStudio..

The word compile scares me!

I guess if it's that straightforward, I shouldn't have a big problem.

Marinus.

[kkubasik]

Actualy, compiling most programs on linux requires less knowlege of programming theory and languages as it does good googling skills.

google.com/linux
and
groups.google.com

will turn up 95% of what information you need. Very soon that infodex of a brain becomes the best place to go.

--
the exception to this rule is pre-alpha, and alpha builds, which may not actualy be working, and sometimes a quick stroll through a few source files can be a helping hand to the developers. And, since early alpha projects don't have the same absurd learning curve of something like Mozilla or OO.org its much more of an 'impulse patch'

</ramble>

[Marinus]

Hi qub,

Googling skills are golden!

For a Linux noob, having set up Slackware/Wireless/Cable/OpenOffice.org/Firefox!!/several migration actions I'm doing pretty good since inserting the Slackware 1/2's tuesday night!

Thanks all here at lfo, Larry & Sergey and my trusted Firefox browser that now shines on Linux...

Yaaaaaayy!!