my brother left me his laptop but he uses linux... im completely new to it and even though im starting to really like it, i have no idea how to install a program.

i was trying to install checkgmail notifier but i can't and i really have NO IDEA. Can someone walk me through the process?

Which linux distribution are you running on?

Ubuntu 8.4

any ideas??

On Ubuntu 8.04 a checkgmail package is available. You can install it using synaptic, Add/Remove..., or
from the command line. Have you already tried one of these methods?

Ok. From the menu "Applications" in the top-left corner of the Desktop, select "Add/Remove...". In the search box, type checkgmail and press enter. You will see checkgmail in the list of programs/packages. Check the little box in front of the checkmail package and press "Apply changes" in the bottom-right corner of the window.

Reply yes and/or apply to all the questions, wait for a moment and you will have checkgmail installed. To run it, from the menu "Application" select "Internet" then "Checkgmail". A form querying for your account details will appear. Fill it and the checkgmail icon will appear in the system tray. Now checkgmail is installed and running.

its working now! thanks so much!!!