Red Hat 9
 

Im very new to Linux and just installed Red Hat 9, my question is, i want to update the kernal but how? and i also want to update the KDE environment and how? i would love any help anyone could offer. thanx

Welcome to LQ.

For the kernel upgrade just download the version you want from:
http://www.kernel.org

Then follow the README file with the download. Additional information is available from:
http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/Compiling_a_Kernel

For kde see:
http://kde.org/documentation/faq/install.html

Thanx alot, i really love my new linux machine and i love red hat, its too bad they stopped supporting it.

oh yea, i almost forgot, exactly how do u open downloaded software in linux, and second my brother just got suse 9.0 and is going to up grade to 9.1 but it doesnt suport dvd playback, is there anyway he can keep his dvd playback? or is there a program he can download? thanx again

You can use mplayer to play DVDs:
http://www.mplayerhq.hu

thanx, alot, i know it will save him alot of head aches, but is opening downloaded programs like windows? exactly how do u do it?

Not too much like windows. It depends of the file you downloaded. What was the name (including the file extension) of the file that you downloaded?

I am in the situation you are, new to Linux, even after six months. For some programs, all you need to do is uncompress it and it will then have a readme for anything else you have to do to finish the installation. Some will come as source code only, and will require you to run a makefile from the command line. it isn't hard, just click on the Red Hat in the panel at the bottom of the screen, go to "System Tools", and go to "Terminal". It is almost like DOS. All you need to do is use the cd command to get to that directory and run the makefile. It might look something like this:
cd /home/yourname/aprogram/
make install

Check the readme of the program for info on how to install it. At first Linux can seem intimidating, but once you get the hang of it, you learn to unleash its true power and really appreciate it. Soon enough you will be learning to write device drivers for your incompatible wireless card!

I downloaded firefox so i can learn how to open files in linux but to no avail, i can get it to run, but i cant get a icon or anything else, i can only use it in the file it was downloaded in.

for firefox i right-clicked on my desktop and chose 'new launcher' and then put /home/miner/firefox/firefox as the path. you can select an icon from a list.

thanx i'll try that

By the way, i Love my RH 9 but it has the old kernal 2.4.x i was wondering is there any way i could keep the same kernal? beacause i dont know how to compile a new one, and second how long can i keep it before its obsolete?

can Anyone help me on this one?

Go to www.kernel.org and get the new kernel. You could keep a kernel forever, but it would be obsolete. Besides, when a security bug is found in a kernel, you should get a new kernel that fixes that bug. Even numbered versions (ex. 2.4.20) are stable, while odd-numbered, like (2.3.20) are the latest releases, but aren't stable. unless you are a pro, I wouldn't reccomend playing around with unstable kernels.