UXP is ported to PowerPC Linux

[Roldan]

Other than Arctic Fox (older code base), all the other browsers are exactly the same except for their user interface. So new moon, interweb, and spider web are all based on UXP and are equally the same. If the older 28.4.1 new moon still works, that means upstream broke something (or purposely removed something) in their newer 28.8.x releases. Not much we can do about that but wait, and hope they fix it.

In that case, I hope you will not yet drop New Moon from your collection...? It is still needed.

As for gmail, again, they should all work (except maybe AF), as they are all the same code base. However, why not use a dedicated email client? WebMail is so bloated. I'd suggest spidermail, sylpheed, gnumail etc. Otherwise you can add a user agent override in about:config of any of those browsers and "fake" a newer browser, which usually fixes the "outdated browser" warnings

In fact, I AM using an email client (YAM), and that is the reason I get those serious security alerts !-) As I have to be regularly several weeks away from my machine without being able to connect from the client, Gmail forgets the location/hardware and thinks that there is an intruder who has broken my account, and locks the access untill I login via an up-to-date browser and clear the alert! This happens also with the browser connection itself, but there I can bypass it by answering the security question. With email client, that is not possible.

So, are there ready-made user agents from which to choose, or do you have to somehow define them yourself? What information do you have to input? I suppose this is the trick which in some browsers is called 'spoofing'?

 

[Roldan]

PS. I noticed another problem with InterWeb... When I try to log in my WEB bank, the connection is closed as soon as I have input my username and keyword, with the message 'Session has expired'. Very strange... With New Moon I can log in normally.

I found from about:config page "general.useragent.compatMode.firefox" which I switched to 'true'. But it did not have effect on this bank issue. Do you have any idea what might cause it?

 

[wicknix]

Pale Moon (new moon) 28.4.1 is over a year old. I wouldn't advise using it. It hasn't had updates in 15 months. As mentioned i build interweb (basilisk) and spiderweb (borealis) from more "current" UXP code which keeps up with Firefox security updates and bug fixes. If something "broke" that was working in last years build, that's on the UXP developers, not me. We'll have to wait for them to fix it. I don't poke around in the source except for the changes needed for 32-bit powerpc to build and adding in new branding (naming and icons) since they don't officially support powerpc.

As for "spoofing" it is required on some select sites. Just add an override in about:config. A good working one for most sites is:

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:68.9) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/68.9

Example: useragent.override.yourbank.com (Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:68.9) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/68.9)

Cheers

 

[Macbookprodude]

With the help from rpxrpx on the pale moon forum pointing me in the right direction i have successfully built the latest 28.4.1 release for 32-bit powerpc linux! I had to modify a bunch of makefiles and rip out all the sse2 and -m64 flags they tossed in. This release is on par with Firefox 60.9 esr in terms of browser engine. While i dearly love Arctic Fox, it was meant mainly for OS X 10.6 when the project started. Powerpc linux/bsd was just a bonus as it didn't require modifications. While Arctic Fox is a tad lighter on resources, this works well for those stubborn sites you run across that are too complex for AF's slightly older backend. I've only run across 1 big issue. They ripped out legacy support in some of the multimedia code, so there is no video playback on powerpc. You just get the youtube spinning circle. Web audio (sound cloud for example) works fine. As a work-a-round installing grease monkey with the viewtube script, and installing the vlc browser plugin works perfectly. At any rate, I'm stoked. Things are looking up for ppc linux.

Tested working on my mac mini g4 under lubuntu 16 (pure 32-bit kernel and userland)
Tested working on PMG5 under lubuntu 16 (64-bit kernel, 32-bit userland)

I built with their unofficial "NewMoon" branding, since well... powerpc isn't officially on their supported list.
Download here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jbUbRCj8saWN0knitjWkdV-r5zgnG_jm/view?usp=sharing
Modified source: https://github.com/wicknix/UXP4PPC32
The binary archive is the same type as Arctic Fox's. Just extract and run.

Cheers

View attachment 833705

Pardon my ignorance of Linux, but how do you install the damn thing ? How do you compile it ? I ran ./sh mozilla.sh and nothing happens.

 

[Roldan]

Pale Moon (new moon) 28.4.1 is over a year old. I wouldn't advise using it. It hasn't had updates in 15 months. As mentioned i build interweb (basilisk) and spiderweb (borealis) from more "current" UXP code which keeps up with Firefox security updates and bug fixes. If something "broke" that was working in last years build, that's on the UXP developers, not me. We'll have to wait for them to fix it. I don't poke around in the source except for the changes needed for 32-bit powerpc to build and adding in new branding (naming and icons) since they don't officially support powerpc.

Well, I do not intend to use it any longer than necessary...

As for "spoofing" it is required on some select sites. Just add an override in about:config. A good working one for most sites is:

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:68.9) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/68.9

Example: useragent.override.yourbank.com (Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:68.9) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/68.9)

Thanks for that tip! I added one for 'google.com', and another for my bank. I can login to Gmail, but do not yet know how it behaves in 'red alert' situation (I do not want to recreate it on purpose).

Unfortunately the useragent did not solve the immediate 'connection expired' problem with my bank. The reason must be somwhere else. I also tested to disable my addblocker but that did not help, either. Can yopu suggest anything else...?

 

[wicknix]

Pardon my ignorance of Linux, but how do you install the damn thing ? How do you compile it ? I ran ./sh mozilla.sh and nothing happens.

All the latest builds are packaged as .deb. Use gdebi or dpkg to install it. Example: sudo dpkg -i nameofpackage.deb
This will install it properly and create a menu shortcut to launch it.
If you are using the older tarball archive, just extract it anywhere, then double click on the binary, or cd to the extracted directory and run the binary with ./binaryname (not mozilla.sh)

Can yopu suggest anything else...?

Not really, no. Maybe use your banks cell phone app or another computer/tablet for banking? Even though UXP is current, it's still based on FF52.9 that's patched with 60.9/68.9 security updates and bug fixes and isn't part of the chrome-monopoly the web is slowly turning in to. Even if an old version worked/works, there must be a reason it now doesn't. Maybe they found a security flaw and removed/patched the code which broke your banks site for the greater good of the security of the browser. Not much support for powerpc these days, so the fact these browsers even build and work as well as they do is a blessing. Without UXP, 32-bit ppc linux would still be stuck with the outdated FF47 or the crash prone 52.9esr builds. AF while fast and light, is showing its age and doesn't work on lots of sites as well these days. FF Quantum only builds on 64-bit ppc linux, and even that still isn't perfect yet, and has it's own issues.

Cheers

 

[Roldan]

Not really, no. Maybe use your banks cell phone app or another computer/tablet for banking?

I can use as well Spiderweb/Arctic Fox/New Moon as they do not have that 'Expired connection' problem... But as InterWeb feels otherwise best of these four, it is a pity it has this kind of issue.

BTW, Spiderweb shows every time it is opened this annoying warning: "Your copy is SpiderWeb is old and probably has known security flaws..." Is there a way to get rid of that message? I had a look in the about:config but couldn't myself localise any setting which might disable it.

FF Quantum only builds on 64-bit ppc linux, and even that still isn't perfect yet, and has it's own issues.

I do not remember having heard much of FF Quantum... What kind of team is developing it? Is there hope they can bring and keep it up-to-date?

 

[wicknix]

The message in spiderweb happens because i disabled automatic updates. After 2-3 months it pops up. Its harmless and i haven't found a way to disabled that yet. Just hit the X to close it and it'll go away until its restarted.

Quantum IS the latest firefox released by mozilla. Work has been done to get it running on ppc64 by a bunch of people. Currently Void and Debian have it available that i'm aware of.

Cheers

 

[wicknix]

SpiderWeb and InterWeb have been updated for OS X 10.7+ and PowerPC Linux.
OS X downloads: https://randommacstuff.blogspot.com/
PPC Linux downloads: https://github.com/wicknix/SpiderWeb/wiki/Download

Cheers

 

[mortlocli]

SpiderWeb and InterWeb have been updated for OS X 10.7+ and PowerPC Linux.
OS X downloads: https://randommacstuff.blogspot.com/
PPC Linux downloads: https://github.com/wicknix/SpiderWeb/wiki/Download

Cheers

wicknix, on my iMac using 10.6.8, Interweb is my set default browser...finding it excellent to use for my purposes. Big Thank YOU!!!

 

[xeno74]

SpiderWeb and InterWeb have been updated for OS X 10.7+ and PowerPC Linux.
OS X downloads: https://randommacstuff.blogspot.com/
PPC Linux downloads: https://github.com/wicknix/SpiderWeb/wiki/Download

Cheers

Many thanks!

I compiled SpiderWeb 2.2.2 for Linux PPC64 today.

Download: spiderweb-2.2.2.linux-powerpc64.tar.bz2

It could be, that you have to install some packages for example libffi7 for using SpiderWeb. I successfully tested it on Fedora 27 PPC64 and on openSUSE Tumbleweed 20190722 PPC64 today. If you use Debian Sid PPC64, then you need the symbolic link "libffi.so.6" to "libffi.so.7". Please create this symbolic link with the following command:

ln -s /usr/lib/powerpc64-linux-gnu/libffi.so.7 /usr/lib/powerpc64-linux-gnu/libffi.so.6

 

[xeno74]

YouTube videos in HD with ViewTube and SpiderWeb

Hi All,

The old version of ViewTube doesn't work with YouTube in SpiderWeb anymore. It isn't possible to install the new version with SpiderWeb. You have to install it manually.

Installation instructions:

1. Download the ViewTube v2 script
2. Decompress the package and copy the folder gm_scripts to /home/<your user directory>/.wicknix/spiderweb/<profile directory>
   For example:

   cp -R gm_scripts /home/amigaone/.wicknix/spiderweb/xa4ue3g6.default/

3. Restart SpiderWeb

Cheers,
Christian

 

[wicknix]

I didn't want to keep building unofficial Pale Moon 28 (new moon) for powerpc linux back when all this started to avoid conflicts. Well, i had a few spare hours last night and i rebranded it with a "spin off" name. If you like the UI of Arctic Fox or Pale Moon, you'll like this. Ready? Welcome "Faded Orb" to the family!

Currently built on Ubuntu 16.04.7, so sorry 12.04 users, you'll have to wait until i swap drives and do another build. It'll run on Ubuntu16, Debian10/Sid, and Void-PPC (glibc 32-bit).

Download: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZtWhfeHmvnurq7jdBllKo3A9-UDCi_Qe/view?usp=sharing
Packaged as .deb for easy install.
I also gave it a mobile user agent by default to lighten the load on sites that offer mobile layouts.

Cheers

 

[Macbookprodude]

Wicknix, do you know if any version of Linux runs on a Powerbook G4 Titanium 1ghz, or is it only for the 1.67 aluminum G4 Powerbooks ?

 

[wicknix]

They all should. That's a pretty popular machine.

 

[wicknix]

SpiderWeb 2.2.3 is now available for Ubuntu 12-16, Debian 8-Sid, and Void 32-bit (glibc version). Sorry for the 6 month delay, but UXP upstream made some major changes that broke builds on older glibc. I finally tracked the problem down and resolved it locally. When i get some more time i'll update my github repo. Download here: https://github.com/wicknix/SpiderWeb/wiki/Download

 

[Roldan]

@wicknix
I cannot login to "Protonmail" (old.protonmail.com) in PPC Linux enviropnment with any of the browsers discussed here... The 'lock' symbol with a rolling circle is just moving a few seconds, then it stops. After a while there appears a requester asking what to do with a non-responding script.

Is there any fix for this...? You can create a free protonmail account if you like to test it yourself.

 

[Bruninho]

Give this man (wicknix) a medal!

 

[wicknix]

@Roldan : Check this thread. They don't mention old.protonmail at all, but mail.protonmail seems to work.

@Bruninho : Can it be an anodized purple one?

 

[Roldan]

@wicknix
>They don't mention old.protonmail at all, but mail.protonmail seems to work.

Unfortunately not... It shows the same problem as old.protonmail. The 'beta' version and https://account.protonmail.com/login do not even open, they just say 'unsupported browser'.

I have tested this both with MintPPC and Fienix. Any suggestions...?

 

[wicknix]

Nothing I can do until upstream resolves it. Faded orb is based off the 2nd to latest uxp release and should work. If not does protonmail offer imap or pop?

 

[wicknix]

Didn't realize i hadn't updated InterWeb for 32-bit PPC Linux since last June, so here is a new build.

Download

Web Browser for PowerPC Linux and Mac OS X 10.6 and above - wicknix/SpiderWeb

github.com

@xeno74 can you let Casey know about it? Or has he not been very active with Fienix this year?

Cheers

 

[xeno74]

@xeno74 can you let Casey know about it?

Yes, I will let him know about your new version. Many thanks for the new version!

Just for info: It's not possible to install the new version with GDebi.

Error message:

Error: A later version is already installed

It is a downgrade for dpkg because it thinks that the old version of InterWeb is newer than the new one. I tested it on ubuntu MATE 16.04.7 and on Fienix.

You have to install it with dpkg -i as root.

# dpkg -i interweb-2021.07.26.ubu12deb8.linux-powerpc.deb

Output:

dpkg: warning: downgrading interweb from 20200604.4fienix to 2021.07.26
(Reading database ... 273810 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack interweb-2021.07.26.ubu12deb8.linux-powerpc.deb ...
Unpacking interweb (2021.07.26) over (20200604.4fienix) ...
Setting up interweb (2021.07.26) ...
Processing triggers for bamfdaemon (0.5.4-2) ...
Rebuilding /usr/share/applications/bamf-2.index...
Processing triggers for mime-support (3.64) ...
Processing triggers for desktop-file-utils (0.24-1) ...

 

[wicknix]

Yeah I think when I added the periods to the date it confused gdebi. I'll make note of that for the next build.

Cheers

 

[pipetogrep]

Didn't realize i hadn't updated InterWeb for 32-bit PPC Linux since last June, so here is a new build.

Download

Web Browser for PowerPC Linux and Mac OS X 10.6 and above - wicknix/SpiderWeb

github.com

@xeno74 can you let Casey know about it? Or has he not been very active with Fienix this year?

Cheers

I would love to learn how to start running these builds for myself. How much customization have you put into this besides branding? Are there any significant things you had to do to get it to run on 32 bit PowerPC?