Using Ubuntu MinimalCD

[xtheunknown0]

1. Am I able to connect to the internet as soon as I've downloaded and burnt the iso?
2. How do I install gcc, gdb and Firefox onto the distro, ready to burn the operating system onto another CD?

[reed9]

If you have a wired connection, you should be connected automatically. If not, try

sudo ifconfig eth0 up
sudo dhclient eth0

I'm assuming your wired interface is named eth0.

If you have a wireless connection, it can be more complicated, depending on your network, and whether it's using WPA or WEP encryption.

For WEP

sudo ifconfig wlan0 up
sudo iwconfig wlan0 essid <your network name> key <WEP key>
sudo dhclient wlan0

Again, I'm assuming your wireless interfact is name wlan0.
Look at the iwconfig man page for more options.

Installing sotfware from the command line, use apt-get.

To search for a package, do

apt-cache search <search term>

For gcc and development tools, install the meta-package build-essential

[xtheunknown0]

[QUOTE=reed9;710928]To search for a package, do

apt-cache search <search term>

What is the package name for the latest Firefox?

[xtheunknown0]

Currently, I've only the console. Please show me how to install a desktop environment.

[reed9]

The latest Firefox 3.5 is available to for Ubuntu 9.04 in the Universe section of the repository. The package is called firefox-3.5.

For a DE, there are a few options depending on what you want. The main three are the packages [b]ubuntu-desktop[b], xubuntu-desktop, or kubuntu-desktop.

Or you can pick and choose what you want rather than install everything. Here is an example from Distrowatch on doing a minimal XFCE desktop environment.

If you want to search for packages online, rather than via apt.
Ubuntu -- Ubuntu Packages Search

EDIT: If you can't find firefox 3.5, you may not have universe enabled. Here's a link on how to enable it from the command line.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Re...20Repositories