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From: Joe LaVigne 
Newsgroups: alt.os.linux.ubuntu
Subject: Re: Ubuntu machine on the way Friday
Date: 6 Mar 2007 23:26:51 GMT
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On Tue, 06 Mar 2007 12:08:44 +0000, Josiah Jenkins wrote:

> Whilst perusing Usenet on Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:28:53 -0800, I read
> these words from NoStop  :
>>Pete wrote:
>>
>>> I've been surfing the web and not found a good answer to the question of
>>> how to add a program/package from the Internet (not already in
>>> repository). What "directory" do I download to from the Internet so I can
>>> itstall it using synaptic?
>>> God this could use a simple download and .exe file like Windows.
>>
>>If it's a deb file you just download it to someplace within your home
>>directory. I have firefox setup to send all downloads to a "Downloads"
>>directory in my home directory. Then you navigate to that directory with
>>Nautilus (the Gnome file manager) and simply double-click on the deb file
>>to install it. Couldn't be simpler. Much easier than Windoze.
> 
> Eckshully, that's almost identical to the Windoze procedure
> (if you choose to set it up that way). A downloads folder, navigate
> to there via file manager, double-click the .exe file and tell it
> where to install the program.
> 

With a deb (or rpm) package, you have no user prompts.  Everything goes
where it is supposed to.

> The bigger difference is where the 'shortcut' to start the program
> ends up ! In Windoze, you have to tidy up the Start/All Programs
> menu manually or it can end up as a total mess.
> 
> And, like a lot of of things in Linux, that's probably not
> a task that the inexperienced user wants to have a go at !
> 
> As an experienced Win user but a Linux newbie, I reckon both
> systems have their good points . . . and bad.
> 
> The one major gripe that I have against Ubuntu is the inability
> to log in _from_a_boot_ as 'su' (and a different password)
> when you're trying to set the system up from scratch. Similar
> to what you could do as 'administrator' on a buttoned-down
> NT4 / W2K Win installation.

You can reset the root password if you wish, but it is not necessary. 
Right click on "Applications", click "Edit Menus", click on "System Tools"
in the left pane, put a checkmark next to "root terminal" in the right,
close the window.

Now you will have access to a terminal that is root.  Anything you could
do from a root login can be done in the Window, and you don't leave your
system open to hacking.

> 
> I've been trying to change 'permissions' on an .ogg file.
> Even as sudo or gksudo and using a tag managing program,
> I still can't find out how in Ubuntu . . . 'permission refused'.
> Or you get it changed but it won't save !!!

Copy the file to your hard drive.  Use sudo chown username to give
yourself ownership of the file, then you should be able to do anything you
want.  You cannot change permissions or ownership on a CD.

> 
> The same file on a Win XP box. Not a problem, you can do
> it easily in File Mangler and, remember, ogg is _not_a native
> file system to M$. 

ogg is not a filesystem.  It is a music file type, similar to MP3, but
open source.  It can be played in Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac, or whatever
you want, using the appropriate codec.


> 
> As I said, IMO both systems have their good points, and bad.
> 
> (I've even managed to get a 'chocolate screen of death'
> in Ubuntu which made me feel right at home and makes
> a change from the blue and black ones !)

In many years using Linux in one form or another, I have had a few lockups
(almost always hardware related), but never seen such a screen.

> 
> I actually wonder whether all those years I spent 'tinkering'
> with .ini and .bat files in DOS and Win makes it harder
> to adjust. Whereas, to a new user, a GUI is a GUI is a GUI !

The idea is the same, just using a different language.  batch files in dos
and shell scripts in linux work about the same, but the shell script is
much more powerful.


>>
>>All that being said, you're better off, if a package is available in the
>>repos to use Synaptic or apt-get to download and install it. This may on
>>occasion require adding new repos to your /etc/apt/sources.list.
> 
> Talking of which, anyone know if the Ubuntu 'universe' and 'multi-
> universe' repositories are linked to the main Debian one ?
> Or do all the distros tap into the same couple of repositories ?
> Not that it matters, I'm just curious !
>>
>>Unfortunately, not all programs you may want to install are already packaged
>>into a deb file. Those that are not are usually available as source code
>>files that require compiling on your system to make them into functional
>>binaries.
> 
> That last sentence can put the fear of death into a newbie !
> 
> "Source code" . . . like Cobol, Fortran, Pascal and Lisp ?

Generally C++

> 
> "Compile" . . . like put lines of 'ifs, ands and ors' together ?

Nope, just run a script.  Make config, make install, or whatever the docs
tell you.  It just compiles the text of the program into an executable
binary.

>  
> "Binaries . . . aren't they just dirty pictures you download ?

No.  Binaries (on ALL OS') are non-text files.  An exe in Windows is a
binary.  In "packages" (deb, rpm or Windows Installer), the binaries are
already compiled for you.

> 
> Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh !
>>
>>Ubuntu with it's 20,000 packages in its repos, pretty much covers
>>most of what you'll need.
> 
> Agreed. That's one of the *big* advantages.
> And if you don't like the program and want to try a different one,
> dump one and install another just by ticking a couple of boxes.

And don't worry about how much crap it is leaving hidden in your system or
your registry...
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