How to Install Software on Linpus Linux

although downloading and install vlc does work via the acer supporter site, vlc does not work. Seems that acer has removed all the codecs from it so that it won't even play avi files that mplayer will run.

Once again... screwed by open source software.

 

It's Fedora 8. I'm not sure why this is so difficult to find out; it's on the first page of the thread entitled "READ ME - FOR NEW LINPUS LINUX USERS" in the beginners' section of the forums. Saying that 'most people spend hours' to get that far is a bit insulting about / to find this is a bit insulting about people's reading abilities, don't you think?

http://tinyurl.com/censau may help you.

 

First of all, there is a lot of conflicting info regarding what version Linpus Lite is based on... some say Fedora 6, 7,8,9, but not 10. I suppose this is because Linpus is based on one of many versions of Fedora but because it is a specialized hacked version, there will probably be some incompatibilities even with Fedora versions to such an extent that sometimes terminal installs are the only way to go (which is what Brother says).

If you read a lot of the postings on the forums, which takes hours to do (and is not an insult to make an effort to read them all and get an overview of the compatibility issues) it then becomes clear that there is confusion about what exactly Linpus Lite is and that some statements in the forums are far from accurate. From the postings I gather that rpm type files may be installed but since Fedora 10 is also a rpm file and it is not compatible...? This beggs an inquery into just how compatible Linpus Lite is to the Fedora Versions and whether one particular Fedora version is the most compatible. If we knew exactly what Acer did to create this version of Linux I'm sure a lot of things would be much clearer to understand.

Thanks for the link. Just as I thought. The sh stood for shell. Is this installed as a default in Linpus Lite? Well, when I get back to my Acer netbook maybe I'll find out.

 

It's Fedora 8 as far as any packaging is concerned; that's whyt he repositories it uses are the Fedora 8 repos.

Installation using a terminal is usually just doing manually what a package manager does automatically - unless there is some compilation to be done as well. However some software also as 'self-installing' which is a bit like the Windows way of doing it - the problem with this is that it often bypasses the package database on the system and can lead to later conflicts.

rpm is a type of package for Linux systems; it's used by Fedora, Red Hat, Mandriva and Suse among others. You still need the rpm package which matches your system.

(Most Windows installations are done by .exe files, but that doesn't mean they are all aimed at the same version of Windows; it's just that all the Windows versions can handles installation using .exe.files. Same sort of thing).

Those particular shells aren't installed; but the standard shell (bash) does anything they do with very few exceptions. I'd be surspised if anything related to an installations needed specific csh/tcsh capabilities; tcsh and csh are probably used more on Unix than Linux systems.

 

Cheers! This is very helpful, and has put me on the way to making a very nice lappy! Kudos++

 

How do I know if I need to install the compiler and build tools? Are these not already on the netbook? Will I have to install these for each new program I wish to download and install?


So, if download the most recent tar.gz file for XFCE Ristretto Image Viewer (http://goodies.xfce.org/projects/applications/ristretto) from here http://goodies.xfce.org/releases/ristretto/ to my download folder...
I extract it and a new file is created(within download folder?), perhaps called Ristretto.
Then I read README and/or INSTALL (and probably get thoroughly confused).

Then open a terminal and type cd Ristretto and press enter.
When it stops doing whatever it does, I then type ./config (does this bit not need the name of the program now?) and press enter.
Then, when it's done type make , press enter and then wait, and then type sudo make install and press enter

And then it's done? I assume a reboot will be in order? (I go to the off button in the lower right corner and choose Restart. Is there a quicker/better/safer way?)

Many thanks.

Ps: From the requirements listed on this page http://goodies.xfce.org/projects/applications/ristretto
can you tell me if I will need to install anything else to make it work, and if so how? Can the ./config make sequence be
interupted, will the terminal get the requirements for me? Thanks.
( Please note - Risttretto is not listed on my pirut list.)

 

Hi

First, I'm no longer using Linpus on my Aspire One - I change to Ubuntu - so I can't tell you whether you need to install abny more to get Ristretto to run. I'd suggest looking in th package manager, Pirut, for each of the dependencies the Ristretto website quotes, see if they are installed, and if not, install them.

Second, yes you will need to install the build environment unless youv'e already done so - Linpus doesn't come with it installed by default. Most Linux distributions do provide it as standard, but I assume Acer/Linpus were expecting people to stick with what they had rather than install much more!

Thirds, yes, your steps are correct. You don't need any program name after './config' because the script to run the configuration is provided with the package - the './' before the command tells the machine to run the file called config which is in the current directory, so it will get the right one without being told what program it's working for!

I think that will cover it . I don't visit the forums as much as I once did, so if this runs you into any problems, do PM me again.

 

Thanks daldred, I'll give it a go!

 

Linux is all about choice. To exercise this choice you have to know more than the average XP user. The secret nobody told you yet is; you are the expert!! Yes, it is a challenge, but get going! Get into enjoying it! Once the penny drops about useful Linux is and how much you can tweak it, there'll be nothing else. Happy landings.