I'm running Linux Mint 6 which is basically Ubuntu 8.10. How do I place an icon of Firefox or any program for that matter onto the desktop? Tried a drag and drop but that didn't work.

I've installed some programs using the Terminal but they're no where to be found. How do I add them to my Menu or the ALT/F2 function?

In the Terminal itself when there isn't a "user@user ~ $" prompt, just a blinking cursor, what command brings me back to the $ prompt again?

Thanks.

To place an icon for firefox on the desktop go to: applications > internet, and just drag the entry in the menu for firefox to the desktop. Do the same for any other program.

What programs are these? And how did you install them? If you used apt-get from the terminal they should be in the applications menu on the top panel. I've noticed that a few programs (example: epiphany web browser) will not appear in the menu until you log out and log back in again. Try running the program(s) from terminal by typing the program's name in the terminal. If it runs ok, then right-click on the applications menu and choose "edit menus". Then search through the list of programs for each category until you find your program. Just check it's box to add that program to the menu.

Try just hitting enter to bring back the prompt. What are you doing with the terminal when you just have a blinking cursor without the "user@user ~ $" prompt?

Something like using the "man" command for a program. Hitting Enter doesn't give me the prompt back.

Using man invokes a pager program to handle thing like scrolling. Best bet is to try "q" (no quotes) to quit - it's a fairly common in *nix.
(<Ctrl>-<c> is also worth a try as a last resort)