I am attempting to install ktorrent on my slackware machine, but i get this message:

root@what:~# installpkg ktorrent-2.1.4.tgz
Cannot install ktorrent-2.1.4.tgz: package does not end in .tgz
root@what:~#

this confuses me, i thought the package did end in .tgz

Is that a source tarball, or is it an actual package? Some devs actually release tarballs with a .tgz file extension. It's the same thing as tar.gz, but it just looks different.

i downloaded it as a source tarball that ended in .tar.gz and i tried installing it like that and it didn't work. i was told renaming the extension to .tgz would work but it did not.

You were misinformed.

A Slackware *.tgz package is a lot different from a source tarball ending in *.tgz

If you downloaded a source tarball, why not try to make a proper package out of it

You can find a generic build script here. a Build script is run from the terminal to compile the source and bundle it into a package so that you can easily install and remove the utility.
There are a lot of good how-tos for building slackware packages all around the net, google can help you find them.

of course, you could also just find the package on linuxpackages.net

that's exactly where i found it, actually

and the package ended in .tar.gz

If you want Ktorrent, you can just get the package from one of the slackware mirrors in /extra

http://slackware.com/getslack/

That is true, but he would have to use the -current package, which likely won't work on Slackware 11 since KDE has been moved out of /opt in -current. The version of KTorrent for Slackware 11 is considerably outdated, and since some very serious issues (issues that got KTorrent banned on a number of trackers) were fixed in the latest release, you really shouldn't be using an old version.

unpack tar.gz file and read INSTALL/readme file which should be containing the installation steps

is there any specific place to unpack the file?

Not really, since the source itself is not going to be doing anything. You use the source to build the program, which will then be installed wherever it is intended to go.

The usual location is under /usr/src. but a lot of people build things in their home directory as well. Any directory you have access to will work.

You should stay away from linuxpackages.net
as they have a bad history you know...
I get most of packages from trusted places
like slackbuilds.org or the packages that
rworkman built. Or just compile from source.
Or build yourself a package as truthfatal said.

ok i got ktorrent to install but i am having another problem trying to get vlc to install

i use the installpkg command and it seems to work at first...

root@what:~# installpkg vlc-0.8.5-i686-3.tgz
Installing package vlc-0.8.5-i686-3...
PACKAGE DESCRIPTION:
vlc: VLC (VLC media player)
vlc:
vlc: VLC (initially VideoLAN Client) is a highly portable multimedia player
vlc: for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3,
vlc: ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It
vlc: can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4
vlc: or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network.
vlc:
vlc: Visit the VLC media player project online:
vlc: http://www.videolan.org/vlc
vlc:
vlc: This package has been compiled for Slackware 10.x by pallansson@gmail.com
Executing install script for vlc-0.8.5-i686-3...

...but then it takes me here

root@what:~#

and leaves me here.

that means that it installed fine.

Run vlc (press tab to get available commands) in command line or search for shortcut in program menu (if you use kde/gnome).

i use kde and i tried searching but it didn't work

and for some reason the command line won't let me change directories. i type in "cd" command but it doesn't change directories.