My Linux Experiment...

[Niloc]

My Linux experiment.

A couple of months ago I decided to give Linux a go. I found a website which offered me a Linux release called 'Ubuntu'. I applied and a couple of weeks later I received five pairs of CD's which would install Ubuntu.

I had both my Laptop and Desktop computers running Windows 2000 with the NTFS file system. I am a programmer, I started writing code for a living in 1986 and retired to Thailand two years ago with enough cash to keep me forever.

I decided to keep the desktop on Win 2000 as it had the ADSL internet connection and all my source code, banking history, Word documents, photos and a small number of music Files.

I installed Ubuntu on the Laptop, an IBM T21 which has served me well for the last five years.

I gave it the full hard drive and it was a slick and easy installation.

Then I had to learn how to use Linux. I have had experience with several operating systems, most of the flavours of DOS, Windows, BTOS, CTOS, CPM even the Tandy Color (sic) Computer and the good old TRS 80. So I expected it to be a steep learning curve but not impossible.

I scoured the internet and soon had a list of bookmarks of Linux and Ubuntu sites. I downloaded some packages but very soon discovered that Linux expected, nay demanded that the user have an internet connection. So many things wanted to connect to the internet for help files, update connections, the internet seems as important to Linux as the keyboared!

I downloaded some files on the Windows desktop. copied them to a memory stick and transferred them over to the Linux system.

I soon discovered there is a variety of Linux packages, DEB, RPM, Tar etc. At first I downloaded some RPM packages but was unable to open them, the internet connection was on my desktop, not the laptop where Linux lived!

I decided that I really needed an internet connection for Linux, it was obvious that without it I was wasting my time.

After a good deal of investigation I found out that to connect through my ADSL connection I needed a modem/router, not the ADSL/USB modem the phone company had supplied. I found one for 900 baht and it worked more or less, I reinstalled Ubuntu with the modem attached and it found the internet for me.

I really wanted a programming environment similar to the Windows Delphi IDE, I had heard of the Linux equivalent called 'Kylix'. I actually have a copy of version two but it refused to install. I found a Canadian on the internet who offered to send me a copy of the free public release of Kylix and I am waiting for that.

Meanwhile I found a package called 'Free Pascal' and another 'Lazarus' which I am advised will give me all I need.

I found both these packages on the internet, downloaded them, used a thing called 'alien' to open them (they were RPM files) and .... nothing happened. I assume alien extracted the contents of the packages, it certainly created lots of new folders with stuff in them, I did find a file called 'Install' and inside it had a piece of advice, "go to the source folder, type 'make all' and enjoy". Trouble is it neglects to tell you where the 'source folder' is so I went to the folder where the makefile was and it did something, what I don't know but there was nothing to enjoy...

I gave up on the idea of writing code or porting all my Windows code over and recompiling. I thought I would solve the problem where I could play CD's but it refused to even look at an MP3.

I searched the internet and the Linux 'Add Applications' files and found three applications which claimed to play MP3 files. I downloaded and installed all three and not a single one would play MP3 files. Actually none of them would play anything.

I did get Evolution Mail working, Firefox looks as good as it did on Windows.

So now I have precisely what I started with, a nice looking Ubuntu Linux release on my laptop, a stack of .tar files which should set up my programming environment, a nice internet connection which looks the same as the one I had on the Windows 2000 desktop, I did manage to get one of my programs working with 'wine' but I would much rather compile a genuine Linux copy.

A basic principle of writing software is 'you never leave the user wondering what to do next, always tell him what has happened, even if it is bad news', another basic rule is 'always handle exceptions, only Windows lets thing happen without checking to see if it actually did what it was supposed to do'.

Linux seems to break both of these rules, I find myself constantly wondering 'what on earth happened?, where did it vanish to?' and when an installaton fails, it never tells you what went wrong, it just quits and leaves you staring at a blank screen.

So, will I persevere with Linux, yes I will, I have never allowed an operating system to beat me, it is never easy and I will probably look back and laugh at my own dullness!

Colin in Pai

[rcm]

My Linux experiment.

A couple of months ago I decided to give Linux a go. I found a website which offered me a Linux release called 'Ubuntu'. I applied and a couple of weeks later I received five pairs of CD's which would install Ubuntu.

I had both my Laptop and Desktop computers running Windows 2000 with the NTFS file system. I am a programmer, I started writing code for a living in 1986 and retired to Thailand two years ago with enough cash to keep me forever.

I decided to keep the desktop on Win 2000 as it had the ADSL internet connection and all my source code, banking history, Word documents, photos and a small number of music Files.

I installed Ubuntu on the Laptop, an IBM T21 which has served me well for the last five years.

I gave it the full hard drive and it was a slick and easy installation.

Then I had to learn how to use Linux. I have had experience with several operating systems, most of the flavours of DOS, Windows, BTOS, CTOS, CPM even the Tandy Color (sic) Computer and the good old TRS 80. So I expected it to be a steep learning curve but not impossible.

I scoured the internet and soon had a list of bookmarks of Linux and Ubuntu sites. I downloaded some packages but very soon discovered that Linux expected, nay demanded that the user have an internet connection. So many things wanted to connect to the internet for help files, update connections, the internet seems as important to Linux as the keyboared!

I downloaded some files on the Windows desktop. copied them to a memory stick and transferred them over to the Linux system.

I soon discovered there is a variety of Linux packages, DEB, RPM, Tar etc. At first I downloaded some RPM packages but was unable to open them, the internet connection was on my desktop, not the laptop where Linux lived!

I decided that I really needed an internet connection for Linux, it was obvious that without it I was wasting my time.

After a good deal of investigation I found out that to connect through my ADSL connection I needed a modem/router, not the ADSL/USB modem the phone company had supplied. I found one for 900 baht and it worked more or less, I reinstalled Ubuntu with the modem attached and it found the internet for me.

I really wanted a programming environment similar to the Windows Delphi IDE, I had heard of the Linux equivalent called 'Kylix'. I actually have a copy of version two but it refused to install. I found a Canadian on the internet who offered to send me a copy of the free public release of Kylix and I am waiting for that.

Meanwhile I found a package called 'Free Pascal' and another 'Lazarus' which I am advised will give me all I need.

I found both these packages on the internet, downloaded them, used a thing called 'alien' to open them (they were RPM files) and .... nothing happened. I assume alien extracted the contents of the packages, it certainly created lots of new folders with stuff in them, I did find a file called 'Install' and inside it had a piece of advice, "go to the source folder, type 'make all' and enjoy". Trouble is it neglects to tell you where the 'source folder' is so I went to the folder where the makefile was and it did something, what I don't know but there was nothing to enjoy...

I gave up on the idea of writing code or porting all my Windows code over and recompiling. I thought I would solve the problem where I could play CD's but it refused to even look at an MP3.

I searched the internet and the Linux 'Add Applications' files and found three applications which claimed to play MP3 files. I downloaded and installed all three and not a single one would play MP3 files. Actually none of them would play anything.

I did get Evolution Mail working, Firefox looks as good as it did on Windows.

So now I have precisely what I started with, a nice looking Ubuntu Linux release on my laptop, a stack of .tar files which should set up my programming environment, a nice internet connection which looks the same as the one I had on the Windows 2000 desktop, I did manage to get one of my programs working with 'wine' but I would much rather compile a genuine Linux copy.

A basic principle of writing software is 'you never leave the user wondering what to do next, always tell him what has happened, even if it is bad news', another basic rule is 'always handle exceptions, only Windows lets thing happen without checking to see if it actually did what it was supposed to do'.

Linux seems to break both of these rules, I find myself constantly wondering 'what on earth happened?, where did it vanish to?' and when an installaton fails, it never tells you what went wrong, it just quits and leaves you staring at a blank screen.

So, will I persevere with Linux, yes I will, I have never allowed an operating system to beat me, it is never easy and I will probably look back and laugh at my own dullness!

Colin in Pai

Hi there,

it takes a bit of time to get into Linux but it does work.

Rpm's are not meant to be for Ubuntu but Deb's are because Ubuntu is Debian based , Rpm's are good for (red hat, fedora, suse...) so you might find it easier to install anything with .deb packages therefor.

MP3 & DVD does work with Kubuntu 6.06 ....i don't know which version of Ubuntu you are running but i think it should be working there too. I got most of my Installed stuff through adept a package manager that downloads and installs/uninstalls in one go....nice one .

Maybe you will be best off to start with Suse as it is rather userfriendly and well working too. I use at the moment Suse on one Pc and Kubuntu on another one and both PC are on Dual boot and connect Wireless to my Home network.

Wine may not be all perfect yet , but the new Version 0.9.17 is doing a lot better and you can now even play Windows Games on Linux ....with the help of the Wine 0.9.17

You should give it another try or another Distro , and you might be surprised how well Linux can work, there are still shortcomings that is true , but there is only a little gap now between the different OS available this days. One definant advantage that you have in Linux, no need to worry about Viruses . And the free distribution with a lot of useful software included.

good luck in advance,

rcm

[rcm]

Hi there,

it takes a bit of time to get into Linux but it does work.

Rpm's are not meant to be for Ubuntu but Deb's are because Ubuntu is Debian based , Rpm's are good for (red hat, fedora, suse...) so you might find it easier to install anything with .deb packages therefor.

MP3 & DVD does work with Kubuntu 6.06 ....i don't know which version of Ubuntu you are running but i think it should be working there too. I got most of my Installed stuff through adept a package manager that downloads and installs/uninstalls in one go....nice one .

Maybe you will be best off to start with Suse as it is rather userfriendly and well working too. I use at the moment Suse on one Pc and Kubuntu on another one and both PC are on Dual boot and connect Wireless to my Home network.

Wine may not be all perfect yet , but the new Version 0.9.17 is doing a lot better and you can now even play Windows Games on Linux ....with the help of the Wine 0.9.17

You should give it another try or another Distro , and you might be surprised how well Linux can work, there are still shortcomings that is true , but there is only a little gap now between the different OS available this days. One definant advantage that you have in Linux, no need to worry about Viruses . And the free distribution with a lot of useful software included.

good luck in advance,

rcm

Just some things i forgot to mention. MP3 and DVD worked after downloading the missing codecs, through adept .

And Viruses there are some in Linux which are harmless and i think thereeare not more than 5 or so...shoot me if i am wrong.

[TizMe]

Maybe you should have chosen a different distribution .

Linux Distribution Chooser can be found at http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php

[rcm]

Maybe you should have chosen a different distribution .

Linux Distribution Chooser can be found at http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php

Nice one...it did lead me to Ubuntu & Mandriva....it didn't recommend kubuntu for this reason"Not suitable for beginners" ...i thought Kubuntu was easier as it uses KDE as default Environment ...

[Tywais]

Maybe you should have chosen a different distribution .

Linux Distribution Chooser can be found at http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php

Nice one...it did lead me to Ubuntu & Mandriva....it didn't recommend kubuntu for this reason"Not suitable for beginners" ...i thought Kubuntu was easier as it uses KDE as default Environment ...

Interesting site. I just took the test (I'm a power linux user/developer) and the results came up with "Slackware" and guess what, Slackware is what I have been using for years and is the platform I use for all our facilities servers. But I would not recommend it myself for beginners though the latest distributions are much more straight forward in installation.

It's advantages are extremely stable (no beta code like some distributions), one of the most secure systems out there, full development packages included allowing building/compiling applications. Weakness relative to some other distributions may be in auto device detection/support.

Our servers are running 24/7 and never rebooted for months on end - usually only if a long power failure, but even then it auto-starts flawlessly and have to look at the log files to even know it has restarted. Though this is generally true with linux in general (long term stability).

I do have a Sun SparcStation 10 that I have Suse installed on. This is due to being the only linux distribution that I can find that works on Sun workstations but it (Suse) works quite nicely and installed easily (considering the Sun is a radically different architecture then the average PC).

To the OP, once you get over the 'hump' in the learning curve on installing packages it will be a breeze (well nearly) from then on. However compiling (building) applications from source can be a bit overwelming though new installation techniques nearly make it a one word of typing effort now.

Biggest problems that pop up in that process is missing libraries and sometimes end up installing a half dozen other packages to get the package you want built. In my case, when I install Slackware it gives me the option to install everything (~2GB) without prompting for specifics. This makes it simple and am certain to have all the libraries available. Just start the installation and 30 minutes later the system is complete.

The bottom line is that linux being an open-ended highly flexible system will have a somewhat longer learning curve then Windows in regards to application installations, but operating it (linux) pretty much on par with XP. Note: I've used the word 'linux' sometimes here to also mean 'distribution' and just to let the reader know they are not the same thing, just easier to read.

Sorry for the long winded comments, nothing better to do at the moment.

[Jing-jo]

My Linux experiment.

A couple of months ago I decided to give Linux a go. I found a website which offered me a Linux release called 'Ubuntu'. I applied and a couple of weeks later I received five pairs of CD's which would install Ubuntu.

I had both my Laptop and Desktop computers running Windows 2000 with the NTFS file system. I am a programmer, I started writing code for a living in 1986 and retired to Thailand two years ago with enough cash to keep me forever.

I decided to keep the desktop on Win 2000 as it had the ADSL internet connection and all my source code, banking history, Word documents, photos and a small number of music Files.

I installed Ubuntu on the Laptop, an IBM T21 which has served me well for the last five years.

I gave it the full hard drive and it was a slick and easy installation.

Then I had to learn how to use Linux. I have had experience with several operating systems, most of the flavours of DOS, Windows, BTOS, CTOS, CPM even the Tandy Color (sic) Computer and the good old TRS 80. So I expected it to be a steep learning curve but not impossible.

I scoured the internet and soon had a list of bookmarks of Linux and Ubuntu sites. I downloaded some packages but very soon discovered that Linux expected, nay demanded that the user have an internet connection. So many things wanted to connect to the internet for help files, update connections, the internet seems as important to Linux as the keyboared!

I downloaded some files on the Windows desktop. copied them to a memory stick and transferred them over to the Linux system.

I soon discovered there is a variety of Linux packages, DEB, RPM, Tar etc. At first I downloaded some RPM packages but was unable to open them, the internet connection was on my desktop, not the laptop where Linux lived!

I decided that I really needed an internet connection for Linux, it was obvious that without it I was wasting my time.

After a good deal of investigation I found out that to connect through my ADSL connection I needed a modem/router, not the ADSL/USB modem the phone company had supplied. I found one for 900 baht and it worked more or less, I reinstalled Ubuntu with the modem attached and it found the internet for me.

I really wanted a programming environment similar to the Windows Delphi IDE, I had heard of the Linux equivalent called 'Kylix'. I actually have a copy of version two but it refused to install. I found a Canadian on the internet who offered to send me a copy of the free public release of Kylix and I am waiting for that.

Meanwhile I found a package called 'Free Pascal' and another 'Lazarus' which I am advised will give me all I need.

I found both these packages on the internet, downloaded them, used a thing called 'alien' to open them (they were RPM files) and .... nothing happened. I assume alien extracted the contents of the packages, it certainly created lots of new folders with stuff in them, I did find a file called 'Install' and inside it had a piece of advice, "go to the source folder, type 'make all' and enjoy". Trouble is it neglects to tell you where the 'source folder' is so I went to the folder where the makefile was and it did something, what I don't know but there was nothing to enjoy...

I gave up on the idea of writing code or porting all my Windows code over and recompiling. I thought I would solve the problem where I could play CD's but it refused to even look at an MP3.

I searched the internet and the Linux 'Add Applications' files and found three applications which claimed to play MP3 files. I downloaded and installed all three and not a single one would play MP3 files. Actually none of them would play anything.

I did get Evolution Mail working, Firefox looks as good as it did on Windows.

So now I have precisely what I started with, a nice looking Ubuntu Linux release on my laptop, a stack of .tar files which should set up my programming environment, a nice internet connection which looks the same as the one I had on the Windows 2000 desktop, I did manage to get one of my programs working with 'wine' but I would much rather compile a genuine Linux copy.

A basic principle of writing software is 'you never leave the user wondering what to do next, always tell him what has happened, even if it is bad news', another basic rule is 'always handle exceptions, only Windows lets thing happen without checking to see if it actually did what it was supposed to do'.

Linux seems to break both of these rules, I find myself constantly wondering 'what on earth happened?, where did it vanish to?' and when an installaton fails, it never tells you what went wrong, it just quits and leaves you staring at a blank screen.

So, will I persevere with Linux, yes I will, I have never allowed an operating system to beat me, it is never easy and I will probably look back and laugh at my own dullness!

Colin in Pai

Hi Colin

I have a deep distrust of windows now especially with the WGA built in but thats another topic!

I know how to build computers and a bit about the software but nowhere like your experience

I have found Mandriva (the latest version of Mandrake to be a very good linux distro's and also easy to use here's the link str8 to the download page

the one I got had a large magazine style handbook of some 100 pages from the www.linuxformat.co.uk people may still be available by back order

it's called "get started with Mandriva Linux 2006"

hope this helps

cheers

Jing-Jo

[Niloc]

Thank you all for your encouragement. I will perservere!

With that in mind I looked for a Podcaster. I found 'Castpodder' in a DEB archive. Downloaded it, clicked and it asked me if it wanted me to open it with 'Archive Manager', I clicked yes, it did something but what do I do now? I obviously have the package, have unpacked it but how do I make it go? Do I have to compile it? If so where? Why am I just left in mid air, I found a 'Help' site, looked for something like 'Installing Castpodder' but nothing looked like it was going to help me.....

help...

Colin

[Simmo]

Thank you all for your encouragement. I will perservere!

With that in mind I looked for a Podcaster. I found 'Castpodder' in a DEB archive. Downloaded it, clicked and it asked me if it wanted me to open it with 'Archive Manager', I clicked yes, it did something but what do I do now? I obviously have the package, have unpacked it but how do I make it go? Do I have to compile it? If so where? Why am I just left in mid air, I found a 'Help' site, looked for something like 'Installing Castpodder' but nothing looked like it was going to help me.....

help...

Colin

Don't know that software but try from a terminal window "castpodder". Learn how to use the command line package management tools.

dpkg -L <packagename>

will list all the files that belong to a package. You can look in the list for the directories its installed in and an executable.

dpkg --list

will list all the packages on your computer.

[rcm]

Thank you all for your encouragement. I will perservere!

With that in mind I looked for a Podcaster. I found 'Castpodder' in a DEB archive. Downloaded it, clicked and it asked me if it wanted me to open it with 'Archive Manager', I clicked yes, it did something but what do I do now? I obviously have the package, have unpacked it but how do I make it go? Do I have to compile it? If so where? Why am I just left in mid air, I found a 'Help' site, looked for something like 'Installing Castpodder' but nothing looked like it was going to help me.....

help...

Colin

Hi Colin,

When trying to install this right click the .deb File and one option is <open with"Gdebi Package Installer"> ?With this Program it should be one of the easiest way to install .deb Packages. Which version of Ubuntu do you use ?

[Niloc]

Thanks rcm, I am using Ubuntu 5.10 which I received from France.

I tried the right click but I got 'open with Archive Manager'.

A click on this extracts a stack of 'tar.gz' files which simply seem to contain folders called things like 'share' and 'lib' but extracting them in turn produces precisely nothing!!

I was hoping for something like 'castpodder.exe' or a binary file I could 'execute' to start the application, maybe even a file called 'Install'?

I now have my desktop covered with all these 'tar.gz' files, all with names which don't mean much at all to me and seem to contain nothing but folders...

What do I do now?

[Niloc]

Ahh! Another tiny step! I created a new folder called 'Castpodder' and moved the .deb file to there. I went through the extract process again and it created the subfolders in that folder.

I had a look around and found a text file called 'INSTALL', in that it says 'You _must_ have the xmms python libraries installed for this to work.' so it looks like I have to get another package to make this go!!

Am I on the right track?

[rcm]

Thanks rcm, I am using Ubuntu 5.10 which I received from France.

I tried the right click but I got 'open with Archive Manager'.

A click on this extracts a stack of 'tar.gz' files which simply seem to contain folders called things like 'share' and 'lib' but extracting them in turn produces precisely nothing!!

I was hoping for something like 'castpodder.exe' or a binary file I could 'execute' to start the application, maybe even a file called 'Install'?

I now have my desktop covered with all these 'tar.gz' files, all with names which don't mean much at all to me and seem to contain nothing but folders...

What do I do now?

Hi Colin,

I am using kubuntu 6.06 (kde defaul)and installed Gnome as well so i am logged in on Gnome now to see. Try this one <application-add/remove...- systemtools- you should find there adept & gdebi Package installer- tick both and OK >

After this you should find "adept" in system tools and "Gdebi Package installer" when you right click on a .deb File.

I hope this works for you let us know if it doesn't,

rcm

[Niloc]

Nope, I opened Add Applications, went to 'System Tools' but could not see either of your suggestions. I did a search for adept and gdebi but nothing was found.

[rcm]

Ahh! Another tiny step! I created a new folder called 'Castpodder' and moved the .deb file to there. I went through the extract process again and it created the subfolders in that folder.

I had a look around and found a text file called 'INSTALL', in that it says 'You _must_ have the xmms python libraries installed for this to work.' so it looks like I have to get another package to make this go!!

Am I on the right track?

Hi

Where was the .deb file before?

yes , it needs the other package to work .

Did you try to install "gdebi" or "adept"?

Can you give me the link where you got the "castpodder" from as i tried to download it too so i could do the same installation...but none of the sites seem to work that used to offer .deb file for the castpodder...

[rcm]

Nope, I opened Add Applications, went to 'System Tools' but could not see either of your suggestions. I did a search for adept and gdebi but nothing was found.

Well, seems there is some difference between the 2 versions that we run. Could also be that i have Kubuntu and installed Gnome later.....

[Niloc]

The DEB file was in the desktop, when it said 'Create folders' I imagined the extraction was going to create the necessary.

The next time after I moved it to its own folder it did make all the necessary sub folders and I got a text file called 'INSTALL' and a script file which does nothing but it is there at least!

[Sulaphat]

Colin,

The KDE desktop has a very good package manager application, KPackage, under the System menu. I use it to install .deb packages and it works well for me. If KPackage is not installed by default by Kubuntu, it should be available from the default repositories.

In KPackage, simply File>Open, find the file in the desktop directory (or wherever it was downloaded to), click the install button and watch the program install. It will show any error messages or missing dependencies during the installation, so you should know whether it installed the package properly. Some packages automatically install an icon in the appropriate menu category. Some don't and you might have to do a file search to find where the application is hiding and add a menu item accordingly.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

S

[rcm]

Colin,

The KDE desktop has a very good package manager application, KPackage, under the System menu. I use it to install .deb packages and it works well for me. If KPackage is not installed by default by Kubuntu, it should be available from the default repositories.

In KPackage, simply File>Open, find the file in the desktop directory (or wherever it was downloaded to), click the install button and watch the program install. It will show any error messages or missing dependencies during the installation, so you should know whether it installed the package properly. Some packages automatically install an icon in the appropriate menu category. Some don't and you might have to do a file search to find where the application is hiding and add a menu item accordingly.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

S

S,

I think you meant Ubuntu in his case since he was using it...Kubuntu has Kpackage always there (i think....)

rcm

[Sulaphat]

Colin,

The KDE desktop has a very good package manager application, KPackage, under the System menu. I use it to install .deb packages and it works well for me. If KPackage is not installed by default by Kubuntu, it should be available from the default repositories.

In KPackage, simply File>Open, find the file in the desktop directory (or wherever it was downloaded to), click the install button and watch the program install. It will show any error messages or missing dependencies during the installation, so you should know whether it installed the package properly. Some packages automatically install an icon in the appropriate menu category. Some don't and you might have to do a file search to find where the application is hiding and add a menu item accordingly.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

S

S,

I think you meant Ubuntu in his case since he was using it...Kubuntu has Kpackage always there (i think....)

rcm

You're right. I saw mention of Kubuntu in a post somewhere and thought Colin was using Kubuntu instead of Ubuntu. Sorry, Colin. Disregard my suggestion. It won't apply to the Gnome desktop.

[Niloc]

Well I got kPackage installed and working. None of the searches or finds seemed to be able to find package, I actually got it started by going to the package and using 'Open With' and selecting kPackage.

All was well until I selected 'Install', it asked for my password and then told me 'Authentication Faliure - Sorry'.

Whadda ya mean 'Sorry', I only have one password and that's it! Maybe it wants the password for the guy who wrote the application, or the password of the cat sitting on my knee.....

Just when you think you are gettine a grasp of Linux it jumps up and bites you.. again!!

[Sulaphat]

Well I got kPackage installed and working. None of the searches or finds seemed to be able to find package, I actually got it started by going to the package and using 'Open With' and selecting kPackage.

All was well until I selected 'Install', it asked for my password and then told me 'Authentication Faliure - Sorry'.

Whadda ya mean 'Sorry', I only have one password and that's it! Maybe it wants the password for the guy who wrote the application, or the password of the cat sitting on my knee.....

Just when you think you are gettine a grasp of Linux it jumps up and bites you.. again!!

Colin, Sorry for the incorrect advice in my earlier post. I was under the mistaken idea that you were using Kubuntu. Ubuntu, using the Gnome desktop, probably won't allow KPackage to install anything, which is probably why you got the error message when you went to install a .deb package with it.

I'm not very familiar with the Gnome desktop, so I'll have to defer to those who are for a GUI solution to package management in Gnome.

[rcm]

Well I got kPackage installed and working. None of the searches or finds seemed to be able to find package, I actually got it started by going to the package and using 'Open With' and selecting kPackage.

All was well until I selected 'Install', it asked for my password and then told me 'Authentication Faliure - Sorry'.

Whadda ya mean 'Sorry', I only have one password and that's it! Maybe it wants the password for the guy who wrote the application, or the password of the cat sitting on my knee.....

Just when you think you are gettine a grasp of Linux it jumps up and bites you.. again!!

Niloc,

Sorry about not getting things to work ....since i am on KDE and Sulaphat too it may be a good help to look there Ubuntu Forums i found the solution for my recent adept issue on the kubuntuforum. I hope that helps,

rcm