Trying to Update Firefox 3.6.3 on 09.10

[Markus Schönhaber]

23.06.2010 15:05, Nathan Bahn:

> So I get a message saying that FF cannot update -- or words to that effect
> -- because it does not have the permissions required to access the root
> directory.

What did you do to install FF in the first place?
Look at this
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FirefoxNewVersion
for a (probably) better way to get a current FF.

> After doing some looking around, I conclude that I need to set
> up an administrative account.

There already is what one could call an "administrative account": the
user with ID 0, aka "root".
On Ubuntu, by default, you cannot log in as root using password-based
authentication, though. But that doesn't mean that there is no root
account or that it's somehow inactive.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RootSudo

What exactly did you do to set up this "administrative account"?

> I do so; however, I still get a message
> stating that FF doesn't have the necessary permissions *even though I
> AM IN*the new just-created administrative account.  So what's going
> on?  Why won't
> FF3.6.3 update from an administrative account in 09.10?

I see the following alternatives:
- Check out the document I pointed you to in the first part of my answer.
- Get Firefox 3.5.4 from where you got 3.5.3 and do the same you did to
install the latter (removing 3.5.3 first).
- Start FF by using gksudo (or equivalent) and try if the integrated
update mechanism works.

-- 
Regards
  mks