Firefox2

From OLPC
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Requirements

  • Development version (devel) of OLPC system

Installing Firefox 2.0

As simple as:

yum install firefox

Installing Flash 9 plugin

  • Open a terminal as root
  • Download the plugin file:
wget http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/install_flash_player_9_linux.tar.gz
  • Unpack the file:
tar xzvf install_flash_player_9_linux.tar.gz
  • Run the flashplayer-installer and follow instructions:
./flashplayer-installer

Running the browser

  • In a shell outside X (ctrl+alt+F1, ctrl+alt+F2, ...):
    • As root, set an environment variable:
      • export DISPLAY=127.0.0.1:0.0
    • Execute the firefox with the user olpc:
      • su olpc -c "firefox &"
  • Through a shell in X (alt+=):
    • just type firefox from there

Known Problems

  • firefox is excluded from the repository on G1G1 machines. You must edit (as root) /etc/yum.repos.d/olpc-koji-ship2.repo to remove firefox from exclude list before installing with yum
    • One way to do edit the file is as follows:
  1. Start the Terminal activity (this gives you a line like "[olpc@xo....]$ )
  2. Click in the window
  3. Type "su" and Enter for super user mode
  4. Invoke the "vi" editor: "vi" and Enter
  5. (You might find the Vi cheatsheet at: http://www.tuxfiles.org/linuxhelp/vimcheat.html to be of use)
  6. Load the file: ":e /etc/yum.repos.d/olpc-koji-ship2.repo" and Enter
  7. Use the arrow keys to move to the "f" of "firefox"
  8. Use the "x" key to delete "firefox" and the following comma
  9. (If you get into the insert mode, use the circle-x key in the upper left corner of the keyboard to exit that mode.)
  10. Write the file out and quit: ":wq" and Enter
    • Installation of Firefox 2 appears to use about 42 MB. The installation downloads about 35 MB.
  • Performance issues
  • It is not "sugarizable"
  • Right-clicking in a flash closes the browser window