Hello all! I am a fresh Linux user. I just acquired another computer to play with and decided to make it truly free by installing Linux and free software. (Not to mention staying away from Micro$oft) I had Mandrake 9.0 and now have 10.1. This computer is an 800mhz with a 10 gig hd and also has a DVD rom drive. I tried using Xine and Kaffiene, but no joy. I can read CD's but to play DVD's it just gives me errors. I did a little research on this site and found I may need libdvdcss and got it unpacked and on the computer, but when I go to install it does this:

[jimmy@localhost jimmy]$ cd /home/jimmy/libdvdcss-1.2.8
[jimmy@localhost libdvdcss-1.2.8]$ ./configure --prefix=/usr
checking build system type... i686-pc-linux-gnu
checking host system type... i686-pc-linux-gnu
checking target system type... i686-pc-linux-gnu
checking for a BSD-compatible install... /usr/bin/install -c
checking whether build environment is sane... yes
checking for gawk... gawk
checking whether make sets $(MAKE)... yes
checking for gcc... no
checking for cc... no
checking for cc... no
checking for cl... no
configure: error: no acceptable C compiler found in $PATH
See `config.log' for more details.
[jimmy@localhost libdvdcss-1.2.8]$ make
make: *** No targets specified and no makefile found. Stop.
[jimmy@localhost libdvdcss-1.2.8]$ su -c "make install"
make: *** No rule to make target `install'. Stop.
[jimmy@localhost libdvdcss-1.2.8]$

So, if anyone can guide me through this a little, I would much appreciate it.

you have no compiler......

use urpmi/rpmdrake and start installing things from the development section (gcc, g++, autoconf, automake, flex, m4, make, binutils, etc, etc.... also, since you are using Mandrake ( which is a pain in the ass to compile things on unless you know exactly what you need), make sure any libraries that whatever you are compiling needs to link against you have installed plus their -devel counterparts.

EDIT: why are you not installing this lib through urpmi/rpmdrake instead of compiling it from source?

Try going to Google, look for ogle youll find all you need there.

Mandrake has a good package management tool called urpmi with a gui frontend called rpmdrake. This will save you time and effort coz you will have access to numerous packages from official Mandrake software repositories without worrying about compiling. To find out how to configure and use urpmi, go to zebulon.org.uk and easyurpmi.

Thanks for the help! I got it working, finally. The reason for not going through urpmi is I understand you need to be connected to the internet for that to work. I still haven't configured the old computer for that yet as it is sitting on my dining room table. But, many thanks to getting my DVD's working!
I hope you don't mind, but I will have more questions until I get the hang of linux.
Later!

You can use urpmi with your installation CD, it is automatically configured to use them during installation. The only reason why most people use the net is coz of availability of newer packages.