this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2023
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I use Arch btw


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2024 is the Year of Linux on the Desktop, at least for my boyfriend. He's running Windows 7 right now, so I'll be switching him to Ubuntu in a few days. Ubuntu was chosen because Proton is officially supported in Ubuntu.

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[–] pathief@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

If you use apt-get you aren't using snaps, you are unaffected.

Snap is a format created by Canonical which has a really funky proprietary back end. The default application store in Ubuntu uses this format and has been plagued with an impersonation problem. Since everyone could submit snaps there was a lot of spyware posing as legit software. My main gripe was when the snap store just decided to unilaterally close and update my Firefox while I was using it.

Linux Mint does NOT have snaps and even had a debian based version. Pretty neat

[–] CameronDev@programming.dev 9 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Correct me if I am wrong, but apt-get install firefox installs the snap version unless you go out of your way to fix that?

[–] Zitrone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 9 months ago

Yep, it installs the snap version

[–] pathief@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago (2 children)

apt uses debians packages and debian repositories. Unless they recently created an alias or something, it should install debian packaged version!

[–] CameronDev@programming.dev 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I was under the impression the latest "firefox" package was a kind of "meta" package that caused the snap to get installed instead.

Certainly seems that way according to: https://packages.ubuntu.com/search?keywords=firefox

Note that 22.04 is described as a transitional package to snap.

Apt does use debian packages (.deb files), but on ubuntu it uses ubuntus repositories.

[–] pathief@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Even worse than I thought, then :/

[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

They've introduced a couple of redirects so that the snap version gets installed.