Revolutionary Hack: Install Firefox 3.1 on Ubuntu without compromising your default settings!
If you are using Ubuntu as your main operating system, you may have noticed that the default version of Firefox installed on your machine is an older one. This can be problematic, as the older version may not support all of the latest features and security updates. The good news is that you can easily install the latest version of Firefox 3.1 without compromising your default settings, and without losing any of your bookmarks or configurations. In this article, we will show you how to do just that using a revolutionary hack.
Step 1: Download the Latest Version of Firefox 3.1
First, you will need to download the latest version of Firefox 3.1 from the official Mozilla website. Download the appropriate package for Ubuntu, depending on the architecture of your machine (32-bit or 64-bit). Once the download is complete, make a note of the directory where the package has been saved.
Step 2: Extract the Files
Next, you will need to extract the files from the downloaded package. Right-click on the downloaded file and select “Extract Here” from the context menu. This will create a new directory with the name “firefox” in the same directory as the downloaded package.
Step 3: Move the Directory to the Opt Folder
Now, you will need to move the directory containing the extracted files to the “opt” folder. Open the Terminal and type in the following command:
sudo mv firefox /opt/
This will move the entire “firefox” directory to the “opt” folder.
Step 4: Create a Symbolic Link
To make Firefox 3.1 the default browser, you need to create a symbolic link to the “firefox” binary file in the “/usr/bin” directory. Open the Terminal and type in the following command:
sudo ln -s /opt/firefox/firefox /usr/bin/firefox
This command will create a symbolic link with the name “firefox” in the “/usr/bin” directory, which will point to the “firefox” binary file in the “opt” folder.
Step 5: Enjoy Firefox 3.1
That’s it! You can now enjoy Firefox 3.1 without compromising your default settings. Simply click on the Firefox icon in the Launcher, and the latest version of Firefox will open.
Conclusion
By following these simple steps, you can easily install the latest version of Firefox 3.1 on Ubuntu without losing any of your bookmarks, configurations, or default settings. This is a revolutionary hack that allows you to keep your system up-to-date while still maintaining the stability and security of your default settings. Try it out and enjoy the latest features and security updates of Firefox 3.1 on Ubuntu!
If you are someone who always like to test out bleeding edge products and applications, then Firefox 3.1 is something that you definitely don’t want to miss. Not only does it comes with more improved features, it is also much faster than its predecessor and other browsers. The current version is at beta 2 and is available for download for all platforms. Even though it is not recommended to install in a production machine, it is already very stable and can be used on a daily basis.
If you want to test out Firefox 3.1 beta 2 (or other versions) on your Ubuntu, but don’t want it to mess up your existing Firefox setting, you can easily do so by creating a new profile. Here is how you can do so.
Go to Firefox 3.1 beta 2 download page. Download the Linux package (firefox-3.1b2.tar.bz2) for your preferred language to your Home folder.
Unzip the downloaded file to your Home folder. You should see a Firefox folder.
Before we launch Firefox 3.1 beta 2, we need to create a new Firefox profile so that it won’t interfere and conflict with our current version of Firefox.
In the terminal,
cd ~/Firefox ./firefox –no-remote -P new_profile
You should see the Firefox profile manager. Select the new profile and rename it to a name that you can remember easily.
Click “Start Firefox“.
Firefox 3.1 beta 2 should now start with a new profile.
To make sure that it will start with this profile every time, we need to create a desktop entry where you can easily click to launch it.
On your desktop, right click the mouse and select Create Launcher.
Fill in the detail as shown in the screenshot below. Remember to change the USERNAME to your own username and the your_profile_name to your own newly set profile name. You can find the Firefox icon at the Firefox -> Icons folder.
Click to enlarge
Next, we are going to modify the entry for the current of Firefox so that it won’t boot up from this new profile.
Right click on the menu bar and select Edit Menus.
Navigate to the Firefox section (Application -> Internet -> Firefox) and select Properties.
In the Add the following command
In the Command field, append the following code to then end:
–no-remote -P default
If you have added Firefox shortcut to various places (such as the dock, panel etc), you need to change their entries as well, else they will start up with the new profile.
That’s it. You can now test out Firefox 3.1 and run your existing version of Firefox simultaneously without affecting the setting of each other.
Damien Oh started writing tech articles since 2007 and has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry. He is proficient in Windows, Linux, Mac, Android and iOS, and worked as a part time WordPress Developer. He is currently the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Make Tech Easier.
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