Software Installation

[Windwood]

I truly appreciate all the work you folks have done to help Linux leaning people. If it wasn't for this forum in particular I probably would not have ventured into this mysterious and daunting (for me anyway) world of M$ alternatives.

Having said that I followed as best I could Jason's primer on downloading and installing software. Between the author of the software and the primer as well as the Mandrake manual I managed to get stuff really bolluxed up. I've got parts of packages strewn in various directories from /usr, /home, /src, /john (that's me), /etc and a few others. I've managed to get nothing up and running. Commands like 'make', urpmi, install and the like usually result in "nothing to make," "file not found", "no such directory" etc. You get the idea.

What a newbie like me needs is to work from a total hand-holding lesson just once, all the way through a complete download and install lesson, all the actual keystrokes in color. The package could be a common, useful one that could benefit newbies. By having this experience we, the totally unexperienced could refer back to the LESSON THAT WORKED! and move on.

What say you folks- is this practical? I realize that distros have different ways of installing stuff and can't suggest a work around for that issue. I am currently using MDK 10.0 after a stint w/MDK 9.1. I suppose there are many in that category but a lot more elsewhere.
Thanks for reading!


Mod note: Split from howto install software tutorial

[jeremy1701]

Since you're using MDK 10.0, follow the instructions for URPMI and just the URPMI instructions. Learn one installation method at a time. Trying to master them all is like reading eight books at a time.

Jeremy