Ready to commit Ubuntu Kerry

[Alfred]

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Thrun <mrpeterthrun at gmail.com>
Reply-to: The Canadian Ubuntu Users Community
<ubuntu-ca at lists.ubuntu.com>
To: ubuntu-ca at lists.ubuntu.com
Subject: Ready to commit Ubuntu Kerry
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:46:34 -0600

Need some help. Want to convince the world, at least mine that Ubuntu
is a better option. But, I cannot for the life of me run anything I
download. Windows, double click, and boom, program installed.

At present, tuxsaver-1.0-lmdk.i586.rpm, what can't I open or run
it???? Or why can't I just double click and run?

Please help, nothing should be this hard. I have installed Ubuntu on 3
computers, tossed windows, and know I am being to question my own
sanity, maybe the stress will cause me to toss my cookies.

I know others have posted to this but a proper explaination  for an
Ex-Windows user is better than some linux Talk that a newbie would have
trouble understanding. 

There are many different kinds of Linux out there. RPM are a Redhat
package type, you might use in Redhat, or Mandriva, or or Redhat
derivatives. 

Ubuntu is a derivative of Debian Linux, so the Packages used for Ubuntu
are usually .deb. Try to get rid of or do a completely fresh install of
Ubuntu. Get rid of the -rpm files. When the Partition Manager comes up
use erase disk, this will completely reformat your hard drive, and then
put a fresh Ubuntu on it. Use EXT2 or EXT3 formatting. Ubuntu is not
like Windows at all. In Windows you need to scour the web to find
programming to put on your Windows machine. Ubuntu has the add/remove
option in Applications, at the bottom of that menu. Be connected to the
Internet when you go into that menu. Then after a minute or so scroll
down until you find a program that you would like. Click on it, then
enter your Password, to give Root authority. Then it will download
that .deb file, and any dependencies, which would be similar to
Windows .dll files, and when done it will install them Automatically.
Sometimes you may need to do a reboot, and it will alert you if you do.
Other times you can just go into Applications top left hand in that
panel, and what ever Classification it was in in Add/remove, it will
also be in, in the Applications menu. Then you just find it and click on
it and it runs! You can find Synaptic in the top Panel left hand side
under SYSTEM - Administration - Synaptic Package Manager. A Dialogue Box
comes up and you put in your Password to give it root Authority. Then
Synaptic opens up. If you know sort of what you are looking for, you can
use the search function to find the program you are looking for. If you
know what kind of program you are looking for there is a panel to the
left side with different Classifications. Say you were looking for a
Game, well you scroll down to Games and Amusements click on the first
Games selection and then in the right Panel it shows you what is
installed and what is not installed, and below that gives a description
of what you are looking at. With the cursor over the selection you want
to right click your mouse and a little menu pops up, scroll down to
"Mark For Installation". Click on that. You can continue on looking for
more titles, and mark them too. Sometimes things will be in Bundles and
it will tell you that you need to install other Games too. Then it
figures out What dependencies you already have loaded, and then figures
out which ones you still need. Then the Green Check Mark lights up in
the Menu area at the top of Synaptic and it says Apply. You click on
that, and it starts the download process, when that is finish it will
install all the programs that you clicked on plus all the dependencies
that you need. Then you can get out of Synaptic, and run the programs.
If some other step is required, you will see a message about it.

That's it!

No Ubuntu Kerry needed! Linux is a bit different than Windows. Try to
have a Linux Diary, when you run into a problem, write it down how you
or someone else fixed it for you, next time you run into it you just
look it up. Put your Passwords into it too, so in a year from now, you
don't loose them. You can run some Windows Programs in Linux either
with, a Windows Emulator, or Virtual box or a Windows linux layer
program, but some of these will not run every kind of Windows Program,
only some of them, or partly. Most Windows programs have Linux
Equivalents, so you don't need to run out and Buy things, it's all built
in. Add/Remove programs were usually all tested with that version of
Ubuntu you are using, and they all run Perfectly most of the time.
Synaptic has thousands of titles, but there can be some glitches
sometimes. You can still download like you are doing, but it is best to
use .deb files if you can. Using .rpm files can get you into library
files not working, and the kind of things that you already ran into.

Try to download Firestarter if you are going on the Internet, that is a
Firewall easy to setup, ClamAV is a Virus checker, that updates
automatically. So now you don't get Viruses and Malware most of the
time. If your IP provides something like Postini, it will pre-filter
anything for Viruses, and Spam and Malware, and it is pretty much smooth
sailing, from there. 

OK

Alfred!