Fwd: re update firefox 9 to 11

[O. Sinclair]

On 12/05/12 09:09, Basil Chupin wrote:
> On 12/05/12 16:15, O. Sinclair wrote:
>> On 12/05/12 07:57, Basil Chupin wrote:
>>> On 12/05/12 07:43, ray burke wrote:
>>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>>> From: ray burke<rayburke30 at gmail.com>
>>>> Date: Fri, 11 May 2012 06:39:18 +1000
>>>> Subject: re update firefox 9 to 11
>>>> To: kubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com
>>>>
>>>> Can anyone help please-
>>>>
>>>> I the other day update thru kpackagekit in my k 10.10 firefox 11, but
>>>> after i rebooted and started ff11 when
>>>> i went online it kept crashing ,and sent a report, then tried 11
>>>> attempts but still crashed, so I clonned back to my
>>>> k10.10mm backup which was clonned on 23/4/12, and again using ff9, so
>>>> how do I stop it updating to ff11,
>>>> showing within my kpakagekit? see attached
>>>
>>> Ray,
>>>
>>> If I read what you say above correctly, you are still using v10.10 of
>>> Kubuntu, right?
>>>
>>> If so then you ought to know that support by Canonical for 10.10 stopped
>>> in April - and it is now May. (You would have received and e-mail
>>> advising you about the EOL of 10.10 some time ago.)
>>>
>>> You should be upgrading to at least the next version of Kubuntu, which
>>> is 11.04 - but keep it mind that this 11.04 will reach EOL (End Of Life)
>>> this coming October - ie, in 5 months time.
>>>
>>> You should also know that Firefox is now currently at version 12
>>> (officially - but unofficially at v15 if you use the knightly builds).
>>> The upgrades since v9 which you are running contain many fixes including
>>> security fixes.
>>>
>>> Therefore you would be wise to upgrade your Kubuntu which would also
>>> upgrade your Firefox.
>>>
>>> BC
>>>
>> Wise or not wise could depend on hardware and other issues. In my
>> experience older hardware do better with older versions of linux. That
>> has actually been confirmed by tests done by Phoronix where "sandy
>> bridge" et al do better with 12.04 but hardware older than that do
>> better with 10.10.
>>
>> So I would say (and I live by this rule myself): don't upgrade what
>> works for the user. I have 3 laptops in the house and there is no
>> question about it: the older ones run happier on older releases. The
>> newest will not even work (graphic driver issues) on anything older
>> than 11.04.
>>
>> Just a word on "it is always better to upgrade". Nope it aint,
>> upgrades can break working software/hardware relations. Linux may be
>> brilliant but regressions are not exactly uncommon.
>
> Until just a few weeks ago - when I built for myself a new 64-bit system
> - I was using a 32-bit system which I built ~7 years ago.
>
> In that period I have used/installed quite a number of Linux distros and
> have never really had any hassles with any of them. Sure, when trying
> out some beta, or something earlier, then I could get into a hassle - as
> expected when you dealing with something like a beta - but nothing was
> ever "fatal"; annoying yes, but not "fatal".
>
> Perhaps it could be said that for some 7 years I led a 'magical' life
> with little problems re Linux software - ESPECIALLY as I am a
> "always-keeping-up-to-date" freak. If it is the latest, I will install it.
>
> While you are correct in saying that, "If it ain't broke don't fix it",
> you surely have to acknowledge that when a system is declared as no
> longer supported and that some application has been upgraded because of
> security (and other) reasons then it is time to "move with the times"
> and install the latest software?
>
> Or are you happy to argue that running Kubuntu version 5.04 is quite
> acceptable? Or having Windows 3.1.1 still acceptable to run by those who
> are MS zealots?
>
> The OP said that he is running Kubuntu 10.10 which has now reached its
> EOL. He is also using Firefox 9 (latest version 12, with 15.0.x being
> tested). And with this combination he is having problems.
>
> He may be having hassles because what he tried to update did not agree
> with the now unsupported Kubuntu 10.10. I don't really know, but it is a
> possibility.
>
> To find which is the case he should upgrade from Kubuntu 10.10 - and see
> if his system cannot handle it; in which case he can then decide why
> this is so and ask questions about how to go about solving his problem.
> I say this because I don't believe that Ray can be using such an ancient
> computer which could not handle something like Kubuntu v 11.04 at least.
> If it now handling 10.10 then it can handle 11.04.
>

this is kind of a philosophical discussion but for starters the Windows 
3.1 can not be compared to *buntu 10.10. It is more than 10 years 
between them. However, if I still had a 80286 pc somewhere I would not 
throw anything newer than w95 at it.

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTA3ODQ
states what I am hinting at. For "older" computers (in this case more 
than 2 years) you are better off with older versions of the distro. I 
have a Dell Inspiron 6400 that runs slick on 10.10 and get various 
graphic driver issues with newer distros. I currently own a HP laptop 
that can not be used with anything older than 11.04 due to hardware 
(again the bloody graphics) issues.

Security is only one part of the formula. Any linux distro is better 
than most version of Windows at whatever age. Updating to later versions 
of Open/Libre office and Firefox or Chrome can be done via their 
download sites, repositories are not the only way of upgrading applications.

So my oldest stays on 10.10 "no matter what" because then it operates 
nicely. Newer versions chokes it and I do not have the energy to try out 
x number of distros that might be better suited for the hardware. The 
newest lappy is now on 12.04 and from how it looks might stay on that as 
now "almost everything" works as can be expected from the hardware.

If I ever buy a Ivy or Sandy or something a newer release will likely be 
needed.

Best,
Sinclair