Also, check out mandrakeuser.org and linuxnewbie.org. They both have
lots of information and walkthroughs to help you.
Lance Borden wrote:
>
> Andrew Scotchmer wrote:
>
> > Firstly thanks to all for your help and does anyone know of any good
> > books on linux and the KDE. The ones I've got don't seem to cover
> > much and theres no user group in my area.
> > Secondly I can't seem to download anything (icq) from the net, or
> > rather I can but I keep getting asked what I want to open it with.
> > I type in <home> (just a guess) and it downloads to:
> > home/andrew/kde/share/kfm/tmp/..whatever......
> > but then what.
> > I don't want to sound like a windoze freak but isn't there any
> > install wizards for linux? As I am totally new to all of this, all these
> > .rpm and .tar.gz files, not to mention the home/andrew/kde....etc,etc,
> > are doing my head in (hence the need for a good book).
> > I am running Mandrake 6.1
> > Andrew
>
> Hey, I 've been there! I was just where you are about 3 weeks ago, but hang in
> there! It all starts to make sense pretty quickly. I've had trouble finding a
> "one book gives the whole picture" solution, but the latest one I've looked at
> does a really good job: Linux: Installation, Configuration, Use, 2nd Ed. by
> Michael Kofler, Addison-Wesley publisher.
>
> Regarding install wizards, those .rpm files are pretty much exactly that! Use
> kpackage, which will install, update and uninstall all the .rpm packages for
> you. Open kpackage, have it search for .rpm packages (in the options menu, you
> can define which directories to search for packages). It will give you a list of
> all the packages (you can view all the installed ones, all the not-installed
> ones, or both from the options menu). Find the one you want to install,
> highlight it, and hit install. Coming from Windoze, you'll be amazed at how fast
> they install (I sure was!).
>
> The .tar and .tar.gz files are ones you have to compile yourself (manually
> install). It's a little more of a pain. I'm not real good at these, but I'll
> see if my memory serves me right. The others will correct me if I miss it!
> If you have a .tar.gz, it is zipped, and you have to unzip it. I tend to use
> the graphical kfm (file manager) to browse the directory. By right clicking on
> the file, I get the "archiver" option. I choose it, which opens the ark program
> and I select extract, which unzips the file. (I think you can use the console
> and enter the command gunzip foo (foo represents the file name). In either
> case, you end up with a .tar file (which itself is a kind of compressed bundle
> of files).
>
> Use the console and cd into the directory where your .tar file is. Then enter
> tar -xvf foo
>
> This will unpack your .tar file into many files and even directories. Now you
> are ready to install. I think the commands are as follows:
> First, do ./configure from the directory which was just created by
> unpacking .tar
> Then, do make
> Finally... make install
>
> Then your program should be installed.
>
> As you can see, I'm only a step or two ahead of you. Hope this makes some
> sense!
> Lance
