Where to install Aplications?
 

Hi,

I want to install Thunderbird on my Debian system but I would like to do it in such a way that it works for my root and user account.

Is there a universal folder or somehting that I should install Thunderbird in so that it is incorporated into all user accounts? And if so would this folder be the same fr all applications I install?

I would sinply like any applications I install in the future to be applicable in all user accounts.

Cheers

Just apt-get install thunderbird? (or mozilla-thunderbird for Sarge)

Use apt/synaptic. Read the available documentation Debian has.

APT HOWTO
http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/ap....html#contents

Debian Tutorial - Removing and installing software
http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/de...l/ch-dpkg.html

"Overview of Debian packages"
http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/re...package-basics

You can use apt, but if you want the latest, I believe you need to install yourself. I put all apps that I don't install with apt in /opt, but that is up to you where you put it. All users will be able to use it. Each user will have a profile in their home directory. This is where the user's mail, settings, extensions, etc are kept.

Thanks Peeps,

If you install manually in /opt or any other directory will the application automatically be entered into the K menu etc?

no, you would need a .desktop file for it to be automatically added like that.

How do I do that?

Also tried running apt-get install thunderbird but got the following error E: Couldn't find package thunderbird

It worked if I done mozilla-thunderbird but im using Etch not Sarge (Moloko said to use mozilla-thunderbird for Sarge).

Also it installed Debian Thunderbird which looks a bit different from Thunderbird itself, is there much of a difference?

Cheers

I haven't used KDE for some time, but I think KDE has a menu editor where you can just add apps to the menu. Just point the command to the executable. For example, if you place it in /opt then the command would be /opt/thunderbird/thunderbird (that's right, two "thunderbirds" not a typo.
How does it look different? I believe for etch, the version is 1.5.0.2 whereas the newest version is 1.5.0.4. I prefer to manually install Thunderbird and Firefox over the Debian's repository's since I want the updates as soon as possible and I have modified a couple of the files. I just find it easier to unpack the tarball in the directory, make the new edits if needed. But I don't think there is any difference, except that in Debian some of the files are placed in different directories and the Thunderbird icons are not used.
Oh, and it is also mozilla-thunderbird for etch as well as sarge.

heres a link to the freedesktop.org spec

Thunderbird may be a little behind even in Sid, but Firefox in Sid is the current version. It came out only two days after the "Official" Mozilla release. Thunderbird will probably be there the next day or two. BTW the update to KDE 3.5.3 in SID went without a hitch.

Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8.0.4) Gecko/20060406 Firefox/1.5.0.4 (Debian-1.5.dfsg+1.5.0.4-1)

Yes, the universal folders are /opt and /usr/local

This is how I install applications, that for whatever reason I don't install using apt:

Install each application into a directory under /opt, including version number. For example Thunderbird-1.5.0.4 would go to /opt/thunderbird-1.5.0.4/

Then make a symlink with a short name of the application:

Then make a symlink to /usr/local/bin to be able to run the application:

Another symlink for the .desktop file (so it appears in gnome and kde menus):

This way it is very easy to upgrade to a newer version: just install to /opt/thunderbird-1.6.0.0 and change the symlink /opt/thunderbird to point to /opt/thunderbird-1.6.0.0

It is also very easy to remove the application - jusr rm -rf /opt/thunderbird*

Fantastic stuff r0b0. Is the above true for all installations like java etc?