Where can i download installers and drivers for Ububtu?

Question

I'm a newbie in Linux-based OS and I'm currently my Ubuntu LiveCD I got from the net. (I'm using Windows to access the net). I still don't know what's the difference between .deb and .exe that's why I cannot connect to the web when I'm using Ubuntu. Can you help me with my problem? Or else can you explain what is a repository so fort and so on... Do you know where to download an emulator or something? Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

Almost every driver you could possible want (assuming the driver exists in the first place) is built into the Linux kernel and distributed with Ubuntu.



A .deb is a bunch of files along with instructions about where they go. You can think of it as an installer for deb based Linux systems.



A .exe is a file that contains instructions for Windows.



A repository is a place (usually a location on a CD, ftp server or web server) containing a bunch of .deb files and information about what files are available and what they contain.



There are a number of emulators in the repositories set up when you install Ubuntu, they emulate different things. If you said what you were trying to emulate, then we might be able to suggest something more specific.

Answer 2

I've been in your position before. In your best interest I'll keep each of the answers to your specific questions brief.



A .deb basically acts in the exact same way a .exe does in Windows, in the sense that it automatically executes and installs for you with little to no extra interaction or compiling required.



Repositories are basically catalogs of applications and programs used by Linux so you don't have to Google and search for them.



As far as your internet connection goes, there are several factors that could be effecting it. Are you using a wired or wireless connection?



There are several HUNDREDS of tutorials on Ubuntu available on the internet. If that does not work, the Ubuntu community is relentless with support and help with specific problems, try the link below.



If all else fails and you still can't figure it out you can contact me in the afternoon tomorrow via Google Talk at noxregrets or AIM at getsithbrah. The only reason I offer extensive help is because I've been in your exact same position before =P

Answer 3

WHERE IS LINUX UBUNTU GEEK?



I tend to censor my answers about Ubuntu (which I have problems with) unless I'm answering his questions or those of someone who has as low an opinion of it as I do. He has a high opinion of it and gives good Ubuntu-specific answers whereas mine are more generic Linux answers. I use the Debian distribution which Ubuntu is derived from. As such I'm seeing plenty of misinformation in these answers, which is setting me off.





The result of Ubuntu being derived from debian is it uses .deb files. These are data files. They are not self-extracting archives such as the exe files that people are talking about. A program called dpkg extracts and installs executable files from .deb files. It is called by other programs such as apt, synaptic and so forth. You can get information about it by opening a terminal and typing "man dpkg". Man is a help program. It's possible a livecd doesn't have the dpkg man page installed, but one would hope it would.



The generic Linux answer for how to access the web is, you need to know the make and model of your ethernet card, and you need to find out the name of the driver for it. You can usually find out the name by looking in the control panel. I haven't checked it in years. You then enter the name of the card, plus the word Linux, into a search engine. You should get it. Type lsmod and you will see a list of modules and drivers installed. If you don't see it, look in /lib/modules to see if you can locate the driver (which you usually can this being Linux).



If you are accessing the net through dialup, then you are probably using a win-modem. Winmodems are usually controlled by proprietary software. There are and always have been legal and other issues regarding the cloning of them, and there is probably no driver to install for your modem.



If you have the driver name, type, in a terminal "sudo modprobe ". Then, if you don't get an error message "sudo ifconfig" to make sure the hardware has associated it with eth0 or whatever then "sudo ifconfig eth0 up" or replace eth0 with whatever you see listed. However, if the only thing you see listed is lo when you type ifconfig, then the computer does not recognize your ethernet card at all. Assuming all went well, and you told ifconfig to bring eth0 up type "sudo ping -c2 www.google.com" and you should either get the message your computer sent 2 packets to google or the message it couldn't resolve the namespace. If it's the latter type "sudo dhcpcd eth0". Once the driver's loaded that's like the atom bomb of getting on. Try to ping google again and if it doesn't work, give up.



As for repositories and so forth, type "man apt" in the console for more information and read the entries in the /etc/apt/sources.list file.