When I insert a CD into my laptop's built-in optical drive, the "Flatpak" version of "Rhythmbox" flat-out refuses to "see" my optical drive... However this appears to be a "Flatpak" issue, as the "regular" version of "Rhythmbox" can "see" my CD just fine.


Why not just use the "regular" version of "Rhythmbox" instead?


Mostly because Flatpak offers marginally better security, and also because like most programs in the (Linux Mint) Software Manager, the "Flatpak" version is usually updated to the latest version much faster than the "regular" version is...


Anyway, any ideas on how I can get the "Flatpak" version of "Rhythmbox" to "see" my CD drive?

Using the version that your distro's repos provide is your best & safest bet.

Linux Mint's repos has both the "regular" version and the "Flatpak" version of "Rhythmbox"... As per my post above, I am using the "Flatpak" version, which I prefer - but it cannot "see" my CD drive.

^ yes, I meant the "regular".

Using the "regular" version via Linux Mint's repos will "see" my optical drive - but it also means using an older / outdated version that is marginally less secure, and less frequently updated...


Which is why I want to use the "Flatpak" version - which is also available via Linux Mint's repos - because it is the latest "stable" version of Rhythmbox, it is marginally more secure and like most "Flatpak" programs, it is updated far more frequently than the "regular" version of Rhythmbox.


So whilst your suggestion is a work-around that will work... It doesn't actually answer my question, nor does it solve my problem.

I don't think Rhythmbox have a security team working on making it "more secure".

The only thing you get from the flatpak version is a whole new level of abstraction that introduces a much larger attack surface.
But more importantly: seemingly normal things don't work anymore, and it bloats your system beyond compare.

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The "security" aspect of Flatpaks is a whole other discussion, but in theory, they should be more secure.


Like I said though, the "Flatpak" version of Rhythmbox is much more up-to-date than the "regular" version of Rhythmbox in Linux Mint's repos - which seems to be a common trend for "Flatpak" software (sometimes by a big margin!)... This in turn offers numerous benefits to the user.



As for your solution, I'm not yet ready to throw my hands up and put it straight into the "too hard" basket... Maybe I will a little later, but for now, I want to try and find a fix.

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UPDATE: Well it turns out that this is a known, outstanding bug... I imagine that this will be fixed at some point, but for now, the optical drive won't work in the "Flatpak" version of "Rhythmbox".