Is there a PureBrowser to download?

When I first tried installing PureOS 9.0 (P/OS) and boot LIVE from a USB, it had a “PureBrowser”, and was included in the ‘Software’ tote-bag icon and catalog.

Now I have P/OS installed on a external HDD and have option to boot P/OS or Windows.

When I boot to P/OS/Ext HDD, the only browser is FireFox and the catalog has no “PureBrowser”.

Is/was the PureBrowser only available in "LIVE
version of PureOS?

~s~

PureBrowser has be deprecated and we’ve switched to Debian’s build of Firefox ESR. See https://puri.sm/posts/an-epiphany-regarding-purebrowser/ on the reason why we stopped repacking Firefox into PureBrowser. Lots of posts in the forum about it as well.

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The installer LIVE has PureBrowser on it, and I was using it while using “Test or install PureOS”. Maybe it should be removed before the user gets use to it and it’s removed, deleted, deprecated, uninstalled - whatever word fits the scheme of things.

I don’t think it is proper, polite, ethical, moral or right to just ‘update’ or ‘upgrade’ and disable, or delete whatever the DEV of anything wants to delete. Just whose device is it anyway?

What I saw of PureBrowser - I liked. PureBrowser rated 4/5, it HAD the Purism PureOS good name behind it, and support was reachable, not a *A.I. insulting humans.

I know none of what I say will bring back PureBrowser, but I am just shocked, and now worried about what else might just vanish - because it can.

We should be able to install whatever we want on our(?) devices without worrying if it will be there next login.

Just say’n s’all
~s~

*A.I. = Artificial Idiot

it seems to me that the LIVE GNOME DE version of PureOS lags behind of what the current “install-to-bare-metal” results in … sucks but that’s life when you’re not a multi trillion dollar company :shushing_face:

sounds like you should learn how to do a real neck-beard install of Arch/Gentoo/variety

Rambo fires his gun from the hip … the only way to fire a rifle baby :rofl:

Probably a good idea. I expect that that will happen by default over time as the installer is rebuilt and re-released.

From what I can see, Purism’s handling of the phasing out of PureBrowser and replacement with Epiphany (and you can also still use standard Firefox) was a bit clumsy.

The reasons for the change, if you are interested, are well-discussed in this forum.

The beauty of open source is that noone can stop you doing that. The source for PureBrowser was, at least, publicly available. There is nothing stopping you taking over its maintenance and continuing to use it for as long as you maintain it. However you may come up against some of the difficulties that led Purism to make the decision to cease producing it.

Nothing in the open source world need ever just vanish.

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Also, you don’t have to use PureOS if you don’t like the way they handle software. You’re free to install anything you like.

But this is a “hazard” of using someone else’s OS (as in one you don’t build and maintain yourself). They make decisions based on what software to use, but they are generally pretty forthcoming in documenting why a piece of software is removed or replaced. It isn’t as whimsical as it sounds like you’re afraid it is (at least I. The half dozen or so OSes I’ve looked at).

Short answer: I understand your concern. Its inconvenient and sometimes frustrating, but by and very large there are good reasons and documentation for why maintainers do such things. Also live images usually are out of date with current software offerings because they take time to be built and their purpose is to test the OS, not use the OS.

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Thanks for the heads up. We have newer ISOs (https://downloads.pureos.net/amber/live/gnome/) but it looks like the PureOS download page (https://pureos.net/download/) is still pointing to an old ISO from January. We are spinning up a new ISO for the Librem Mini so I’ll make sure we update the PureOS website with that one after its been tested.

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I disagree. I think one not have to become a hobbyist, specializing geek, computer engineer, or have loads of excessive time and patience to learn why a demo has/test has one thing, and it’s full version turns out to have different things - so why the demo? And I didn’t have to do a “real neck-beard install”, whatever the (insert choice of expletive here______) that is, of …“Arch/Gentoo/variety”. (No, I am not going to ‘Google it’ as I have better things to do, like looking for privacy tools… not courses in yet more hardware designing, incorporation of ‘apps’ and the such.

Thanks
~s~

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