Thank you. I agree re ditching it and have been working on that.

I use (and love) Firefox containers, and I keep all Google domains in one container. However, I never know what to do about other websites that use Google sign in.

If I’m signing into XYZ website and it uses my Google account to sign in, should I put that website in the Google container? That’s what I’ve been doing, but I don’t know the right answer.

I vote the same, but I’d suggest a uBlue spin of the Fedora Atomic desktops. They have better defaults (all batteries included, as they say) and are easier to use overall IMHO. Bluefin and Bazzite are both great options, and both offer KDE and Gnome variants.

https://universal-blue.org/

Edit: TIL the KDE version of Bluefin is called Aurora.

BTW, uBlue is getting some big recognition lately. They have been on the Fedora Podcast (official) and Framework Laptops has official instructions on their website for installing Bluefin and Bazzite.

I added this edit above. Pasting here in case you are curious. Cheers.

EDIT: This thread motivated me to try and fix this issue. Installing Firefox using rpm-ostree worked. I expected it would, though I am still hoping to figure this out using the Flatpak version at some point. I also tried using Distrobox/Box Buddy to create a Fedora 40 box and install Firefox there. That version of Firefox couldn’t even see my NAS at all (unlike the Flatpak which could see my NAS but couldn’t upload files from the NAS to Proton). This was my first time ever using Distrobox. I thought it was super cool to see it in action and get a working Firefox, even though I couldn’t use it to access my NAS as hoped.

I agree. I installed the rpm-ostree version of FF and it worked as expected.

Thanks. I tried that using:

smb://[NAS NAME].local/[FOLDER NAME]/

I copied that path straight out of the Files app. Unfortunately it does not work. There is a yellow exclamation point flag next to it that says “This is not a valid option.”

I ended up installing the rpm-ostree version of Firefox, which accesses my Nas just fine for proton drive uploads. I do hope to eventually figure out how to do this with flatpak/flatseal, but this works for now at least. I appreciate the help!

Are you using librewolf to upload files from your NAS to Proton Drive?

I readily admit I am still not super proficient with flatseal. I spent a lot of time trying to fix this by adjusting the file permissions, but I’m now wondering if it was some other local network setting I missed.

I also don’t use fstab to mount my NAS. I just sign in using Files which creates a smb link. On Firefox/proton drive website I can see the files but I cannot upload them directly to Proton Drive from my NAS using Firefox (or Zen) on bluefin.

I haven’t tried any distobox stuff yet but I’m very curious. I will at some point.

Whoever downvoted this is lame. I appreciate your question.

I’m using Bluefin and overall it’s great. However, there are some unique issues due to immutability and flatpak.

1. It’s more difficult to utilize a NAS. For example, on something like Mint, I can open Proton Drive on Firefox, and I can use FF to upload files from my NAS to PD.

On Bluefin, I can access my NAS and all files using the Files app, but not using FF, and I cannot accomplish the above task in the same way. Firefox cannot fully access my NAS, and I have not figured out how to make it work. I’ve played around with Flatseal, but no dice. Instead, I need to use Files to download the files from my NAS to a local folder, and then I can use Firefox to upload to PD from that local folder. I’m guessing there is a better way, but I haven’t figured it out yet.

EDIT: This thread motivated me to try and fix this issue. Installing Firefox using rpm-ostree worked. I expected it would, though I am still hoping to figure this out using the Flatpak version at some point. I also tried using Distrobox/Box Buddy to create a Fedora 40 box and install Firefox there. That version of Firefox couldn’t even see my NAS at all (unlike the Flatpak which could see my NAS but couldn’t upload files from the NAS to Proton). This was my first time ever using Distrobox. I thought it was super cool to see it in action and get a working Firefox, even though I couldn’t use it to access my NAS as hoped.

2. I would desperately like to use a screenshot tool with built-in annotations, but I haven’t found a flatpak that works. As I understand, it might have something to do with flatpak combined with Wayland and/or my Nvidia GPU.

So while most things “just work,” there are some problems. Planning to stick with it and keep learning. I do love the concept and I’m overall very happy with everything.

It’s so good! I love the design right out of the box, with very few settings adjustments.

Note that zen currently only has vertical tabs (horizontal tabs are on the roadmap). If horizontal tabs are a must, try Floorp browser instead, which has several similarities with Zen.

Firefox gets switched to Zen Browser (and before that, Floorp).

I also always download Okular for PDFs. It always seems to be better than whatever the default is.

I typically also substitute OnlyOffice for Libra Office.

I agree with the uBlue recommendation. The best thing about these for OP is that they update automatically on reboots, with zero user interaction. I can easily imagine anyone getting nervous accepting a Mint update and watching all the text zoom by. You don’t see any of that with uBlue.

*I am using and loving Bluefin.

https://projectbluefin.io/

Proton Pass is open source and the company that runs it recently reincorporated as a Swiss non-profit to ensure their privacy mission can’t be bought out by venture capitalists etc.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonPass/comments/153t85q/proton_pass_is_open_source_and_has_now_passed_an/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://proton.me/blog/proton-non-profit-foundation

Lots of firmware and driver updater programs seem to require Windows or Mac and I can’t get them to run with wine. For example, I need Win to update the firmware on my car stereo and my 8bitdo game controllers. I also need it to run the tax software my CPA uses.

Thanks for this! I’m so glad to see an audible alternative.

EDIT: I signed up for a free trial and will give it a go. Bummed to see they have a much smaller selection but I guess that’s expected with Amazon’s muscle.

I know it got sold twice and I am worried about the future but I believe they still have the same purchase and download options for now.

Can you use an adblocking DNS provider to circumvent this?

I agree that it’s a bad recommendation. That was my first distro and the dated look was a huge turn off and a bad first impression for Linux. It just feels like a downgrade from Windows or MacOS, which makes for a terrible transition.

What Mint offers that many other distros don’t is that it generally works well right out of the box, with just the initial install and no other tweaks, because it has proprietary drivers and other bells and whistles pre-installed. But so does Zorin and Pop_OS and both look much better. Those would probably be my top recommendations for a new user. All 3 of those distros have lots of online support (plus the general Ubuntu support that will usually be applicable as well).

Me too. I love that in order to prove I have a claim for my deleted account, I can submit my email address. My account was deleted, Facebook. Why do you still have my email address? Why do you still have records tying it to my deleted account?

Thanks for the input. What makes it far better?