Is it me or Ubuntu secretly replaces DEB Firefox with Snap Firefox?
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Because not everyone wants to spend their time babysitting an OS and Ubuntu has a 20-year track record of dependability.
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It takes a little more than just adding a different repository to your package manager, you have to tell apt which to prefer:
echo '
Package: *
Pin: origin packages.mozilla.org
Pin-Priority: 1000Package: firefox*
Pin: release o=Ubuntu
Pin-Priority: -1' | sudo tee /etc/apt/preferences.d/mozilla -
Exactly. Enough with the inane conspiracism.
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Why even enable snaps? It's like asking to have headaches.
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Well then you haven't been following it closely. As someone else said, the reason is simple: the Snap version is more recent (like it or not) and in Ubuntu
aptis configured to take into account Snap packages. -
It's more than that. Ubuntu copies the Debian repos and then applies their own changes on top. Debian has a native (DEB) Firefox package, so Ubuntu specifically has to remove it for every new version.
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It's a dilemma; most Windows and Mac users would benefit from that kind of locked-down, idiot-proof format. Even having the choice of multiple repos is too much for them. So while I personally hate it, that's what most people (i.e. non-Linux users) want and need.
I recommend Ubuntu as the beginner distro for everyone, but with the hope that they eventually drop the training wheels and switch to Debian.
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Debian testing just isn’t a very good rolling release disto
What makes you say that?
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You could compile it from source yourself, and you won't even have to worry about packaging and package managers.
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While I get that, Debian fits that role extremely well.
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I think fedora is best for user that want a recent kernel and reasonably fast update cycle (like not a year behind) but are not interested in rolling (for whatever reason ever).
I love rolling and had no issues due to rolling yet
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How did you get snap on mint?!
I once tried it as a noob and mint was always “snap bad! Don’t do this! You will regret” even on try to circumvent it 
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I was waiting for this! Debian is great. I used it for years. But IMO it's not polished enough for normies. The website is fugly and the onboarding funnel assumes too much knowledge. The installer, last time I tried it, was glitchy and unintuitive. I think that techies underestimate how offputting even ostensibly minor issues like this will be to ordinary users. Also, Debian has a ton of unmaintained packages (altho I gather that something is being done about this). Debian is fundamentally amateur in the best and unfortunately worst senses. I think a Linux flagship distro needs to be more pro and systematically thought out. For that, it's always going to help to have a big company or organization behind it.
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That’s why I recommend mint. You have all the benefits of ubuntu but without the corporate stuff. And flatpak instead of snap.
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I swear it was the default already installed. Maybe I'm misremembering.
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Mint never preinstalled the snap. They package their own version of Firefox. I believe they have an agreement with Mozilla.
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Was a kubuntu person for a long time, I haven't really loved the default Ubuntu DE for a while, but that's personal preferences. At the end of the day, use what you like.
I personally like debian (swapped from Kubuntu over time) but keep mint on my thumb drive for family who needs something on older hardware, especially those used to windows it seems to be an easy jump. I love that there are so many options available to people with various levels of prepackaging and configurations.
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Maybe it was that i had to install the snap version (or maybe flatpak?) and uninstall theirs, which fixed the crashes. I thought it was a hardware issue for awhile because it was so random.
