Monday, September 22, 2008

How to install programs in Ubuntu

You installed Ubuntu so easy and are starting to get the hang of it, for tasks such as web browsing, emails and document editing. And then you read that there is this super-duper program that you must absolutely install(k3b for example, the best cd/dvd burning program). But when you double click the file you just downloaded, you see it is a compressed archive and apart from viewing the contents, nothing else happens:(
Before you start screaming in terror and format your hard disk, read the following!!It is very easy to install something in Ubuntu, just a different approach compared to Windows.

First of all, i assume that you are connected to the internet.

Go to System->Administration->Synaptic Package Manager
Give your password
Click Search


Right click on k3b and select "Mark for Installation"
It will ask you to install some needed packages as well. Click "Mark"

Click "apply" twice.





It will start downloading files

Success! K3b is now ready for use!
It was not so tough, was it? You can find it now under Applications->Sound & Vieo->K3b.

Another option, which is faster in many cases is from the command line. Just open a terminal and type:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install k3b

The third will install the program you want. Just replace k3b with anything.
The first command will update the the information on new programs & updates.
The second will install ALL updates(kernel, openoffice,firefox, etc) EVERYTHING IN ONE COMMAND!(2 clicks in update manager)
Linux haters would kill to have this feature in their OS, although they won't admit it!!


Last step:
HAVE FUN!That's what Linux is all about(apart from freedom,security and choice) :)