explanation of what is going on :(

[that_guy_you_know]

Hi all, yes its your favorite computer stupid person again. i was looking into installing amsn for my netbook and it took me forever to figure out the terminal commands and stuff, although my former knowledge from DOS helped a lot lol. anyhow when i was in the directory of the files to configure them i followed the instructions on the txt file labeled install, let me list them.


In order to install amsn, or even to be able to launch it, you will need to compile it first.
To do so, you must first configure the package by executing the command
> ./configure
You must have the tcl-dev and tk-dev packages installed on your system, please refer to your system package management software or website in order to find these packages and to install them prior to running the ./configure script.
Once the configure script finished without any error, you can proceed with the compilation, it is as simple as typing :
> make
You can now launch amsn by typing
> ./amsn
Or you can install it with the command
> make install
Then you can use the
> amsn
command to launch future sessions of amsn.
You can also create a .deb and .rpm package by launching respectively the command
> make deb
etc..

well when i typed in the >make install command it said
install: missing file operend
try install 'help' for more info

well lost at this point i figured what the heck ill type install 'file name' help and it said to install type,
sudo apt-get install amsn
which i was thinking well thats not what the instructions say but ok. i typed this in and it installed just fine. so i was wondering what is this sudo thing and why wouldnt it install with the first command i gave it >./make install

again i am sorry for asking so many stupid questions but this is my first time ever using linux and im trying my best to catch on. lol i honestly love it so far and it took me a while to figure everythign out but im getting there lol. thanks again



P.S.
and on a quick side note is there a firewall program thast really good you guys recomend or something? i hate not having protection on my machine. I had zonealarm and i liked that one because i could configure which network and componets could be allowed internet access.. is there a really exceptional one out there for linux. thanks

[oz]

so i was wondering what is this sudo thing and why wouldnt it install with the first command i gave it >./make install

There are different ways you can install software. Installing from source (tarballs) is different from using your default package tool such as apt (or Synaptic). You can check this HowTo for more info on ways to install software under Linux:

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/lin...are-linux.html

sudo is a command that can be used to gain certain root permissions without having to login as root user. You must have root permissions to install software system-wide. More on sudo vs root logins here:

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/ubu...in-ubuntu.html

and on a quick side note is there a firewall program thast really good you guys recomend or something?

Firestarter and Guarddog are popular firewall options for Linux users. Look for others here:

Firewalls | Linux App Finder

If you find one that you want to try, it's better to use apt or synaptic to install it rather than trying to install by compiling from source unless you know what you are doing. Check this HowTo for using Synaptic:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynapticHowto

[reed9]

What version of Ubuntu are you using? Amsn is in the repos.
Ubuntu -- Package Search Results -- amsn

Just install from the normal Add/Remove programs thing ubuntu has or do

sudo apt-get install amsn

For firewalls, Firestarter and Shorewall are both available in the repos too. These are frontends to the console based iptables, which should already be on your system.

[that_guy_you_know]

ozar thank you much for your detailed response i understand a little more now. im gonna try and find a firewall soon in a bit but atm im installing a couple of other things including my python cmd. thank you reed for your recomendations ill be sure to look into those