Browser Wars - FF - Chrome - Midori

[rickseiden]

I just got my Pine64 up and running with the latest Debian image, and one thing I tried to do right off the bat was install Chromium.  I don't see it anywhere.  I've searched the software repository.  I've searched apt-cache.  I've apt-get update and apt-get upgrade, and I can't find it.

When I start Firefox, I get a button in my task bar that says "Starting Firefox ESR".  That button goes away, and nothing ever starts up.  I try to start it from the command line:

Code:

debian@pine64:~$ /usr/lib/firefox-esr/firefox-esr
Segmentation fault

So I'm left with Midori, which wouldn't be my first choice.

How can I install Chromium, and/or get Firefox working?

Thanks
Rick

[MarkHaysHarris777]

hi rickseiden,  your best option for browsing using the Pine board and gnu+linux ( debian ) is midori.

( youtubes will be a slide show, but the audio is fantastic )

The video is the pine board, not midori.  Firefox is not going to work, period.  The problem is that not enough people are using arm64 'firefox' to make it a development priority !  At this moment in time browsing on the Pine board is best with midori;  I use it all the time.

Midori does have a memory leak; over time it will exhaust your RAM and the machine will get sluggish and crash if you don't monitor it. Keep your tabs minimal, and from time to time ( at least once or twice a day ) close midori and reopen it ( it will restore your tabs )  and this will keep the memory leak in check.

[rickseiden]

hi rickseiden,  your best option for browsing using the Pine board and gnu+linux ( debian ) is midori.

( youtubes will be a slide show, but the audio is fantastic )

The video is the pine board, not midori.  Firefox is not going to work, period.  The problem is that not enough people are using arm64 'firefox' to make it a development priority !  At this moment in time browsing on the Pine board is best with midori;  I use it all the time.

Midori does have a memory leak; over time it will exhaust your RAM and the machine will get sluggish and crash if you don't monitor it. Keep your tabs minimal, and from time to time ( at least once or twice a day ) close midori and reopen it ( it will restore your tabs )  and this will keep the memory leak in check.

Thanks for the info.  If FF doesn't work, period, why is it included in the distribution.

I'm a little disappointed in the video play back.  No, a lot disappointed.  I got the Pine64 hoping to use it as a second computer with very low requirements.  1) I need to be able to browse the web. 2) I need to be able to watch videos. 3) I need to be able to program an Arduino.  I can do 1 and 3, but apparently not 2.  That's not good.

Thanks again,
Rick

---

I have a question about your statement that the video was the Pine and not Midori.  I've also booted into RemixOS, and running Chrome there, video is pretty much fine.  It's not like running it on my laptop, but it's not bad at all.  Why can the Pine64 run video under RemixOS and not Debian?  It's got to be a driver issue, right?

[MarkHaysHarris777]

hi rickseiden,  your best option for browsing using the Pine board and gnu+linux ( debian ) is midori.

( youtubes will be a slide show, but the audio is fantastic )

The video is the pine board, not midori.  Firefox is not going to work, period.  The problem is that not enough people are using arm64 'firefox' to make it a development priority !  At this moment in time browsing on the Pine board is best with midori;  I use it all the time.

Midori does have a memory leak; over time it will exhaust your RAM and the machine will get sluggish and crash if you don't monitor it. Keep your tabs minimal, and from time to time ( at least once or twice a day ) close midori and reopen it ( it will restore your tabs )  and this will keep the memory leak in check.

Thanks for the info.  If FF doesn't work, period, why is it included in the distribution.

I'm a little disappointed in the video play back.  No, a lot disappointed.  I got the Pine64 hoping to use it as a second computer with very low requirements.  1) I need to be able to browse the web. 2) I need to be able to watch videos. 3) I need to be able to program an Arduino.  I can do 1 and 3, but apparently not 2.  That's not good.

Thanks again,
Rick

---

I have a question about your statement that the video was the Pine and not Midori.  I've also booted into RemixOS, and running Chrome there, video is pretty much fine.  It's not like running it on my laptop, but it's not bad at all.  Why can the Pine64 run video under RemixOS and not Debian?  It's got to be a driver issue, right?

hi Rick,   the video doesn't work right on the Pine board with gnu+linux;  its a long story which goes beyond the scope of this post, but is thoroughly documented on the forum ( I've written several articles ). 

If you want to use video use Android !

Firefox worked before the last debian build that lennyraposo maintained. The kernel|modules|libraries on the new build do not match the repo Firefox;  and the repo Firefox is not being maintained properly for arm64.  So... there is the problem.  

If you went back to the first lennyraposo image firefox works there;  but that image has issues, some of them security issues.

Just use midori.

[Luke]

Hey 

Just to let you know that Chromium 52 works really well. Haven't tried midori for quite some time, but I remember it crashing frequently. Also, I am glad I can sing into chromium as I use chrome on my other devices too (so I have all my bookmarks etc). 

Here is the repo

You'll need to create a custom launcher or run chromium from the terminal. 

See the attached screenshot

Hope this helps

[rickseiden]

Hey 

Just to let you know that Chromium 52 works really well. Haven't tried midori for quite some time, but I remember it crashing frequently. Also, I am glad I can sing into chromium as I use chrome on my other devices too (so I have all my bookmarks etc). 

Here is the repo

You'll need to create a custom launcher or run chromium from the terminal. 

See the attached screenshot

Hope this helps

I managed to isntall Chromium 52.  I had tried 53 and 46, but not 52.  It works well.  Certainly better at watching youtube than Midori.

But when I start it with the following command line:

chromium --disable-seccomp-filter-sandbox --disk-cache-size=200

I get an error:

You are using an unsupported command-line flag: --disable-seccomp-filter-sandbox.  Stability and security will suffer.

What's with that?

PS: To install Chromium 52, I downloaded the 52-arm64 deb, and then ran gdebi-gtk to launch the gui version of gdebi.  Then I installed it using that.

[MarkHaysHarris777]

---

Firefox is not going to work, period.

Firefox works just fine. But I can't speak for the OS images from Pine download page, they all seem to be buggy.

Well, then, it doesn't work just fine, um, does it ?

... also if you can't speak to the OS images from the Pine download page ( which is what we're talking about ) then don't speak.

Because Firefox does not work with the official pine images, from the download page.

[rickseiden]

Here is how I managed to install Chromium 52. YMMV.  I can give no support beyond what is here, because I don't know enough to do it.

First, I downloaded the deb package for Chromium 52 for arm64 here.

Next, I ran the following commands from my home directory:

1. sudo apt-get update
   
2. sudo apt-get upgrade
   
3. sudo apt-get install gdebi
   
4. cd /home/debian/Downloads
   
5. sudo gdebi chromium_52.0.2743.116~deb8u1.1_arm64.deb
   

Then I clicked on the Applications menu and went to Internet, and right clicked on the Chromium icon, and choose "Add this launcher to panel"

That creates a Chromium icon up at the top of the screen next to the menu.  Finally, I right click on that, choose Properties and change the command to:

/usr/bin/chromium %U --disable-seccomp-filter-sandbox --disk-cache-size=200

If I keep the --disable-seccomp-filter-sandbox in the command, I get an error at the top of the browser when I start Chromium, "You are using an unsupported command-line flag: --disable-seccomp-filter-sandbox.  Stability and security will suffer."  But if remove it, it won't actually access the web, so I have to leave it in there.

All this for usable YouTube videos...


Rick

[dkryder]

another thing Rick did not mention is that this chromium build [same one i used] does not allow signing into chromium in order to sync bookmarks/settings with other chromium installs on may have. Rick, if you managed to get to sign in to chromium i'd like to know how you did it.

[rickseiden]

another thing Rick did not mention is that this chromium build [same one i used] does not allow signing into chromium in order to sync bookmarks/settings with other chromium installs on may have. Rick, if you managed to get to sign in to chromium i'd like to know how you did it.

I followed the steps I outlined, and signed in.  That's it.

Also, I'm sticking with Midori for everything but YouTube videos because of the security concerns.  Really, my beef with Midori is that it can't do YouTube at all.

Rick