I've been using Ubuntu Linux now for about 9 months and have learned
quite a lot about how to make things easier for me. In general, the
easiest way to install new programs if you already know the package
name is to use the "sudo apt-get install <package-name>" command. This
downloads the package and installs it on your system. If you want a
graphical tool to help, then use the "Add/Remove Programs" from your
Applications menu (under GNOME, anyway, which I think is what Ubuntu
Studio uses) or use System>Administration>Synaptic Package Manager for
installing smaller packages and dependencies and stuff like that.
Before you do all this make sure to enable all of the repositories
that are available to you.
Now, if you need to install something that's not in the Ubuntu
repository or, as in the case with Lilypond, is a version that's older
than what you want, it's more complicated. One program I've installed
many times in different ways is Adobe Acrobat Reader. At first I had
big problems b/c the Adobe site by default offered up a Red-Hat
package (.rpm extension), but after a while I realized I could dig
deeper for more package options and have found that the easiest to
install by far is the Debian package (.deb extension). When you
download and double-click the icon, it opens up the package installer
and you click install, type your password, and you're done. If I have
an option, I always choose the .deb package. If you have to deal with
a .tar file that must be extracted and then installed with a script,
just read the README file and follow the instructions carefully.
If you're interested in reading my blog about the transition to Linux
(albeit from Mac instead of Wndows), you can view it here:
http://jonkulp.blogspot.com/
Go back to the very first few posts and you'll probably find me
dealing with some of the same frustrations you're having now :)
Jon
David Stocker wrote:
(BTW, if anyone knows of an online "self-help" or "twelve-step
prgram"-type resource to help recovering Windows users learn how to
install programs in GNU/Linux, please pass them along--I'm not really
'lazy,' I just want to avoid messing things up).
Suffice it to say that I proceed with caution in areas like this.
Because of my limited knowledge, I want to make sure that I'm making
no assumptions.
Thanks in advance for any insight imparted here,
Dave