Apt-get upgrade in Ubuntu - newbie

[Daniel Robitaille]

> When I do apt-get update and apt-get upgrade, are the files
> automatically installed and ready to run, or does one still have to
> follow other procedure to make this possible.

that's it; you're done; they are installed and ready to be used. 

Unless it was the kernel you were installing; in that case you have to
reboot your machine using that new kernel.