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firefox and pulse audio

Thu Mar 16, 2017 9:20 am

There is a strong possibility that future Firefox won't have sound without pulse audio :cry:

Bug 1345661 - PulseAudio requirement breaks Firefox on ALSA-only systems

It seems that
>It appears you're using ALSA as audio backend. Support for ALSA on Linux will be dropped and replaced with PulseAudio in March 2017 unless we can find a dedicated ALSA developer. Apply [here]."

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1345661

Re: firefox and pulse audio

Thu Mar 16, 2017 3:06 pm

This is Devuan not a Refracta problem. The most recent thread is here. apulse as a possible replacement for pulseaudio was first mentioned over two years ago. Regardless, FF is going down the tubes fast and hopefully alternatives will appear. There has recently been discussion of surf on the dng list.

Re: firefox and pulse audio

Thu Mar 16, 2017 5:37 pm

the Anthony Jones post at the bottom of the linked bugzilla page, reminds me of
Virtual Interactive Kinesthetic Interface (VIKI) in the I, Robot movie: "My logic is undeniable."

"my team doesn't have telepathy...
...telemetry tells us...
. . .
Making trade offs is a necessary part of making a good product.
Apple had the same issue with they removed the headphone jack from the iPhone.
. . .
Telemetry informs our decisions. Turning it off is not without disadvantage.
"



stavreli, you (we) are worrying about a problem which, technically, doesn't yet exist.
check my "facts":
-- Although alsa support has been "switched off" in firefox52, the code supporting that functionality hasn't been removed.
-- According to published roadmap, the supporting code will remain in place _at_least_ through version 56.

So, a custom build based on Firefox-esr v52 (or v56) can be expected to provide alsa-friendly sailing, without accumulating unpatched vulnerabilities, well into 2018.

compile Firefox yourself with a mozconfig stating --disable-pulseaudio --enable-alsa
(optional: followup, rebuilding your custom Firefox yourself every time a significant new security patch is issued)
Frankly, I don't expect you to do so. More likely, you'll find someone (a distro) who is doing so & will use their custom-built version.

This is Devuan not a Refracta problem.
good luck with THAT
By that I mean: Devuan has too many "bigger fish" to fry ~~ given their limited resources,
it's unreasonable to expect they can afford to cater to the 15%(?) of their users who are intent on using firefox.

The most recent thread is here.
The mailinglist content underscores why I'm not riding the Devuan train. To date, their best and brightest proposed "solution" is ?
"...so let's all stick our heads in the sand, and switch over to using SURF browser, cuz it's got Brawndo!" -- Steve Litt

Re: firefox and pulse audio

Thu Mar 16, 2017 5:47 pm

@thwak . . . you are always such a ray of sunshine. :roll:

Re: firefox and pulse audio

Fri Mar 17, 2017 7:08 am

There is another project called OSS but I don't know if Devuan can go that far
Code:
Open Sound System for Linux x86/AMD64

What's New?

OSS v4.2 Build 2017 for Linux (x86/AMD64) announced

Added support for Linux 3.x and 4.x kernels


http://www.opensound.com/linux.html

http://www.opensound.com/release/oss-linux-v4.2-2017-amd64.deb

edit;
this is interesting

http://ossnext.trueinstruments.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5811

Re: firefox and pulse audio

Fri Mar 17, 2017 12:07 pm

OSS was the predecessor of ALSA. :)
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