5 ms·

I use Ungoogled Chromium on Gentoo, and it takes my machine 5 hours. Well worth it, because I know that what is built is the source I see. Even FireFox is a bin

I use Ungoogled Chromium on Gentoo, and it takes my machine 5 hours. Well worth it, because I know that what is built is the source I see. Even FireFox is a binary on Gentoo. Just my 2 cents.

approxim8ion 5y ago
I empathize, but for a project as complex as a browser, how valid is this though? It's basically reliant on "the community", of which ungoogled chromium has a vanishingly tiny one, to flag any potential issues in a massive, complicated code base that is likely constantly moving. Sure, compiling yourself eliminates the middle-man who might have compiled the binary for you, but the trust element is still very much there. You're trusting eloston and other project maintainers.
- ghoward 5y ago
  There is some trust there, but again, I can and have looked at what he's doing. Plus the fact that someone who has taken Google out of Chromium probably cares about privacy. It's still less trust required than the trust required for Google. It's not for everyone, not even close. But I am glad it's an option for me.
duskwuff 5y ago
And that probably means you don't rebuild the browser every time an update is available, because you don't want to load down your machine for five hours right now. And, in turn, that means you're vulnerable for significantly longer than you would be with a more centralized build.
- betwixthewires 5y ago
  You're talking to a gentoo user. They compile every chance they get.
  - ghoward 5y ago
    I...can neither confirm nor deny how much I love watching compiles happen...
- ghoward 5y ago
  I update every night, including Ungoogled-Chromium. I'm not awake for the night, so why not do it then? Gentoo may be rolling release, but they batch the updates every day.
TheGoddessInari 5y ago
firefox-bin is a binary on Gentoo. Regular firefox is not. You're not pushed toward the binary package at all.
- ghoward 5y ago
  My mistake, though it seems that it might be default for something, since it is installed on my system. Edit: figured out what it is: firefox-bin can be installed, no fuss, but firefox requires elogind or systemd, neither of which I have on my system.

I use Ungoogled Chromium on Gentoo, and it takes my machine 5 hours. Well worth it, because I know that what is built is the source I see. Even FireFox is a binary on Gentoo. Just my 2 cents.

approxim8ion 5y ago

I empathize, but for a project as complex as a browser, how valid is this though? It's basically reliant on "the community", of which ungoogled chromium has a vanishingly tiny one, to flag any potential issues in a massive, complicated code base that is likely constantly moving. Sure, compiling yourself eliminates the middle-man who might have compiled the binary for you, but the trust element is still very much there. You're trusting eloston and other project maintainers.

ghoward 5y ago
There is some trust there, but again, I can and have looked at what he's doing. Plus the fact that someone who has taken Google out of Chromium probably cares about privacy. It's still less trust required than the trust required for Google. It's not for everyone, not even close. But I am glad it's an option for me.

duskwuff 5y ago

And that probably means you don't rebuild the browser every time an update is available, because you don't want to load down your machine for five hours right now. And, in turn, that means you're vulnerable for significantly longer than you would be with a more centralized build.

betwixthewires 5y ago
You're talking to a gentoo user. They compile every chance they get.
- ghoward 5y ago
  I...can neither confirm nor deny how much I love watching compiles happen...
ghoward 5y ago
I update every night, including Ungoogled-Chromium. I'm not awake for the night, so why not do it then? Gentoo may be rolling release, but they batch the updates every day.

TheGoddessInari 5y ago

firefox-bin is a binary on Gentoo. Regular firefox is not. You're not pushed toward the binary package at all.

ghoward 5y ago
My mistake, though it seems that it might be default for something, since it is installed on my system. Edit: figured out what it is: firefox-bin can be installed, no fuss, but firefox requires elogind or systemd, neither of which I have on my system.