[SOLVED] YaST, Wine, Command-line

[calebt3]

I have been off Windows (at home) for about two weeks now. I have installed SuSE 10.2, and while it's programs work fine out of the box, I want to update various programs and do not know how to go about it.

1) I can't get anything to update in Yast. When I try to upgrade OpenOffice or FireFox (both of which I used in Windows), It says that the currently installed versions are the latest versions. I know for a fact that this is not true, because I currently have FireFox 2.0.2 (not 2.0.3) and OpenOffice 2.0.4 (not 2.2). I think that OpenOffice's problem is that SuSE uses their own customized OOo. If so, how do I get rid of that and use conventional OOo?

2) I can't get Wine to work. I have no idea how to install or even run programs correctly. A step-by-step process would be nice.

3) This is my biggest headache, and probably the reason that I have the other two problems. I don't know where to enter command lines. I am staring at the gnome desktop with no idea what to do whenever a tutorial about the first two problems tells me to enter "tar xvzf OOo_2.0.4_LinuxIntel_install.tar.gz" (and I know that this script is for OOo 2.0.4 and not for 2.2, but that is not the question)

4) Final issue: I have narrowed the possibilities down about where to enter the command lines. I think they should be entered at either the Gnome Terminal or I press Ctrl-Alt-F1, which goes to a text interface asking me to login. But in either case whenever a tutorial tells me to "su to root", it asks me for a password. This would be a no-brainer, except for the fact that I cannot enter ANY text in the password area. (see attachment) No matter what keys I press, nothing gets typed.

I would really appreciate any insight you can offer me!

[techieMoe]

2) I can't get Wine to work. I have no idea how to install or even run programs correctly. A step-by-step process would be nice.

I recommend you look through the WINE section of our forum, or look at some of the tutorials available here:

http://www.winehq.org

3) This is my biggest headache, and probably the reason that I have the other two problems. I don't know where to enter command lines. I am staring at the gnome desktop with no idea what to do whenever a tutorial about the first two problems tells me to enter "tar xvzf OOo_2.0.4_LinuxIntel_install.tar.gz" (and I know that this script is for OOo 2.0.4 and not for 2.2, but that is not the question)

There are a number of console applications. In SuSE I believe the default is "Konsole", but it may also be called "Command Line" or "Terminal".

4) Final issue: I have narrowed the possibilities down about where to enter the command lines. I think they should be entered at either the Gnome Terminal or I press Ctrl-Alt-F1, which goes to a text interface asking me to login. But in either case whenever a tutorial tells me to "su to root", it asks me for a password. This would be a no-brainer, except for the fact that I cannot enter ANY text in the password area. (see attachment) No matter what keys I press, nothing gets typed.

That's normal behavior. When you log in as root user (or use su) no characters are echoed back to the console for security reasons. That doesn't mean that what you're typing isn't getting recorded, just that the system is purposefully not showing anything.

[gogalthorp]

3 and 4

Yes either is allright but normaly one uses the terminal.

SU- just type the password nothing is echoed to the screen this is normal.

1- You are right about the suse being a bit behind in it repositories, but that is to assure that things are stable. If you want the absolute newest you need to manually install. Remove the old software using Yast and install the newer from a RPM. Follow instructions from the distributing site. Good luck