Browser identification of Kubuntu

[GreyGeek]

While browsing earlier this evening I noticed the following in a box in the left panel of the page I was viewing:

Your Country: US Your Country Flag
Your OS: Linux
Distro: Ubuntu
Your Browser: Mozilla/ Firefox 3.5.3
ProductSub: 20090924
RV version: 1.9.1.3
Your Screen Resolution: 1600 x 900
Your JavaScript Status: ON

They are all correct but one: I am running Kubuntu, not Ubuntu. Checking FireFox I found 10 lines in the "About:Config" page that had the word Ubuntu in them. The only ones which I could reasonably change did not have an effect on the contents of the box.

Wouldn't it be nice, and help advertise Kubuntu, if IT were listed as the OS when queried by a webiste?

[Snowhog]

Re: Browser identification of Kubuntu

Yes, but Kubuntu is Ubuntu with a KDE Desktop Environment. Kubuntu isn't a separate distro.

[Rog131]

Re: Browser identification of Kubuntu

A how to > How to change user agent string


=> about:config. Filter: general.useragent. Changing general.useragent.vendor from Ubuntu to Kubuntu.


A test site > Browser UserAgent Test

...and it tells:

Your browser's UserAgent string is: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.9.1.3) Gecko/20090924 Kubuntu/9.10 (karmic) Firefox/3.5.3

... and the distribution info (nothing to do with the FF):

The "lsb_release" command is reading the information from the /etc/lsb-release. Tampering with it (it is a text file), so now:

:~$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Kubuntu
Description: Kubuntu karmic (development branch)
Release: 9.10
Codename: karmic

A link > Topic: FAQ: Version info

[GreyGeek]

Re: Browser identification of Kubuntu

Thanks!

[Ole Juul]

Re: Browser identification of Kubuntu

Very interesting. I wonder though, who else queries the /etc/lsb_release file? Could changing it have any effect such as getting an incorrect dependency? I would like to be sure that some program doesn't make any important assumptions based on that file. As for the rest of the world, advertising KDE is good, but I don't care what anybody thinks about the rest of it.

[Rog131]

Re: Browser identification of Kubuntu

I wonder though, who else queries the /etc/lsb_release file? Could changing it have any effect such as getting an incorrect dependency? I would like to be sure that some program doesn't make any important assumptions based on that file.

It seems that the Grub 2 is using the /etc/lsb_release file. At here /boot/grub/grub.cfg now has:

menuentry "Kubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-11-generic... etc

.

also if you are making (automatic) bug/crash reports to the Launchpad it will read you system info.