The inclusion of C:\\fakepath\\ is a security feature of Internet Explorer 8, designed to prevent information regarding the file system structure being exposed when files are selected via a file input box. Current versions of most other web browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome, will return the file name without any path (relative or absolute).

The HTML5 specification states that the browser’s implementation of a file upload control should not reveal the true path to the file via its ‘value’ attribute. Internet Explorer, as always, does this differently than other browsers by including ‘fakepath’ rather than just removed the local path in its entirety.

This behaviour of Internet Explorer 8 can be overridden by added the size to the list of trusted sites within Internet Explorer 8 Internet options window. I’d personally only recommend this if the system is an secure internal and/or Intranet web-based system which requires the use of the full path.

Ideally, existing systems should be recoded to either not use the full path or to retrieve the full path via another method, such as manual input into a text input field.

I hope this post helps web developers who have unexpectedly come across this strange ‘fakepath’ and been unaware of where it was coming from.

However, Firefox 3.5 is available in Ubuntu 9.04′s software repository by the package name of ‘firefox-3.5′. The application is named Shiretoko, which does not sound very ‘Firefox’ but is in fact Mozilla’s internal development name for Firefox 3.5. To install the firefox-3.5 package in Ubuntu 9.04, just click here, run the command below or install the package via Synaptic Package Manager (found in System -> Administration).

sudo apt-get install firefox-3.5

Although most users who have installed software via the command line will already realise this, the use of ‘sudo’ to elevate the command to superuser privileges will prompt you for your user password prior to installation.

After installation, you’ll find Firefox 3.5 available under Applications -> Internet -> Shiretoko, or can be executed via the command ‘firefox-3.5′. If you wish to make Firefox 3.5 your default web browse under Ubuntu 9.04, first open Preferred Applications which can be found under System -> Preferences. Under ‘Web Browser’ (on the ‘Internet’ tab) select ‘Custom’ and then enter the command below in the ‘Command’ box.

firefox-3.5 %s

Now, all new links clicked should open Firefox 3.5 / Shiretoko instead of the previous default.

The inspiration for the article was the many discussions I’ve already had with users regarding how to install the latest version of firefox in Ubuntu 9.04 and also discussions regarding the gerneal update policy of update, i.e. the lack of backporting of popular applications. This is great for stability, can be mean reduced functionality and in the case of the Firefox, performance, in which Firefox 3.5 heavily out performs Firefox 3.0. However, discussion of update policies and release cycles is another topic entirely.

I hope this basic installation guide comes as a help to those users who want Firefox 3.5 in Ubuntu 9.04. Feel free to discuss below, and add comments regarding any alternate installation methods or even your thoughts on whether or not Firefox 3.5 should have been ‘officially’ backported to Ubuntu 9.04.

Having been a tester of Ubuntu 9.10 during its development, I can tell you that Ubuntu 9.10 will feature the following upon its release.

• E-mail and Chat Features – Ubuntu 9.10 will feature a built-in instant messenging client, Empathy, which can connect to many of the most popular instant messaging services, including Yahoo, Gmail (Google Talk), MSN (Windows Live), Jabber, AOL, QQ and many more. In addition to instant messaging, the latest version of the e-mail and personal information management program, Evolution, is included. Evolution can manage your contacts, e-mail, schedule, tasks and memos – all for free.

• Internet – Ubuntu 9.10 ships will the very latest version of Mozilla Firefox, which is much faster and excellent for browsing modern websites and web applications which are heavy on dynamic client-side content, such as Javascript. Complex web pages such as Facebook, Google Maps and others will load and work lightning fast.

• Music and videos – Music and videos are managed with ease in Ubuntu 9.10. Simply plug in your iPod, PSP, MP3 or MP4 player and use the built-in media player, Rhytmbox, to download, store, buy and play your music collection. Ubuntu 9.10 can play many video formats with no problems and anything it can not play it will offer to download and install the required codecs automatically, and for free.

• Office and productivity – Word processing, spreadsheets or presentations can all be handled by the latest version of OpenOffice.org which is including in the latest version of Ubuntu. OpenOffice is compatible with all other office applications including, but not limited to, Microsoft Office.

• Store, share and synchronise – Ubuntu 9.10 features integrated ‘Ubuntu One’ service, which allows you to easily and seamlessly synchronise your contacts, notes, files and folders between all your Ubuntu computers. Even if you are on a computer running Mac or Windows you can still access all your files online, meaning you’ll never be at computer without your files.

• Software centre – The brand new software centre for this version of Ubuntu allows you to download and install thousands of free and open-source applications automatically with only 2 or 3 clicks.

• Gaming – Linux-based systems are generally not well known for their gaming prowess. However, Ubuntu 9.10 ships with the ability to download over 400 fun games directly from the built-in software centre. All these games are still completely free and installable with only a few clicks.

This latest version of Ubuntu provides advantages for both business workstations and home user desktops. Although not mentioned in this article so far, for enterprises and small home/offices, the server edition of Ubuntu 9.10 is also released tomorrow alongside the desktop edition.

For more information about Ubuntu, visit the official Ubuntu website.