What the heck happens with Firefox?

I know, I know, it is all about that RUST compiler, which does not compile itself, but always/anyways it can be put in /extra as repackaged binaries, just like we do with Java or FlashPlayer builds...

Why I care about a more modern Firefox on slackware-current? Because of its ridiculous high optimization of the memory consumption in the latest releases (now 55.x).

Long story short, where 52.3.x ESR wants 3.5GB memory (for a few hundred tabs, of course), the 55.x version wants around 500 MB. That's a goddamned difference!

is 55.x esr? if not, I do not want it.

I just download the 55.0.1 binary from Mozilla and extracted it to its own directory. It certainly is faster than 52.3. No doubt about it.

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ESR stands just for Extended Support Release, nothing magic here, you know...

I agree that may make sense to go ESR in a stable release, BUT the current stay on top of many other included software, anyways...

If we want really those old good versions, maybe we should NOT jump always on the latest X.org, consequently breaking every time the AMD drivers, BTW...

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1. I thought the policy was (at least for a while) to have the latest Firefox for -current, and ESR for stable?

2. Slackware can always go back to repackaging the binary Firefox releases, which it did for years.

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FWIW Jean-Philippe Guillemin told me that he very much likes Firefox 55, especially as he gets a great sound from it, also better performances as others have said. He cares for that a he is also a musician.

You can get a package in this repo, should be OK on top of Slackware-current.

In Slint I ship Mozilla-Firefox ESR (a repackaging).

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v55.0 has been out for 4 days. 4 days! And 55.0.1 was just released 2 days ago. If Pat does add it, he not only needs to build the newer version of Firefox, but also introduce rust into the system and all the testing that would need to go into that. Give it time...

And for any who are curious, the next ESR based on rust isn't expected until late Q1 2018, based on v59.

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BTW, "We cannot build the latest Firefox (meanwhile was 53.x) because the RUST doesn't compile itself" is a really old story, definitively not "only" 4 days old...

Long story short, since 53.x we are stuck on ESR for current.

How RUST looks being a showstopper, I propose to give it (to RUST) the same treatment on /extra, like the one given to Google Chrome:

An user repackaged binary, if s/he needs it for real.

Why not just use the binary package for the meantime? I expect the new Firefox will be added in some form in the future just like KDE 5 LTS because there is no announcement saying its going to be removed.

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Bearing in mind that the official binary Mozilla ship no longer includes support for ALSA. Which may be a concern for some of us pulseaudio hold-outs.


I gave up on Firefox a while back, so I don't really care one way or the other.

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Thanks for the pointer. I installed the mozilla binary package in /opt and pointed /usr/bin/firefox to it. The new release feels a bit more snappy, so yeah i'll stick with it for now.

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Oh, if you care about my wealth, to note that I already use an own built Firefox 55.0.1, using this RUST package: https://slackbuilds.org/repository/1...elopment/rust/

I made this thread not for me, I am fine, thanks you!, but for others.

What is the sense to abandon a well know working "KDE4 LTS" for a to be abandoned "KDE 5 LTS", which is just given because they want to switch to Plasma 6 development?

WHY NOT TO JUMP RIGHT ON THE PLASMA SIX?

BUT, this is a story for another thread...

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There is always APULSE for you, you know...

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Darth, you are an interesting character. You demand the absolute latest versions of some things, but years/decades old versions of others. I guess that's where that saying comes from, "you can't please everyone."

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That is nice of you Darth Vader. What I don't understand is why are you using Current when so many updates make you unhappy? The older versions of Slackware are still supported and don't contain the offending updates.

Plasma 6 LTS isn't released yet. They are still working on Plasma 5. There is no Qt 6.

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