Okay, I have finally installed a linux OS on my computer and I'm happy as $h1T!!!! I just happen to be clueless on anything that doesn't involve being as stupid as the other OS has helped us become. Anyway, I'm trying to install GIMP and Thunderbird but don't know how to install or run any programs with Linux. I'm running Ubuntu and all is well except for this. I don't know how to log in as root either if I need to do that so please remember I'm very NEW to this!

Thanks a lot,
Adam

To login as root you enter 'root' at a login prompt and then enter the root password (which you set at system install), or type 'su' at any system prompt and then enter the root password.
There are 3 ways to install programs: get a package from your distro (online or install CD) and use the system package management tools to install it, or get a generic tarball (xxx.tar.gz/bz files), uncompress it (gunzip filename or bunzip2 filename) unzip it ( tar xvf filename), cd into the new dir, read the documentation (usually there' a README and INSTALL file), and then install it (usually in 3 steps: ./configure, make, make install).

Okay, but as stupid as this all may sound I don't even know where to type any commands? I read the post below on this same topic but not seems clear to me on what to type where? I'm sorry, odd to feel like a computer idiot after playing with them for the last 20 years. I've just decided I'm done with Windows so that's that. Also, would you recommend Thunderbird for email or do you have another you'd endorse?

Thanks again,
Adam

You will have to play around until you find a menu option for Xterm or Console, that is where you type in manual commands. I use Thunderbird and have found it to be A+ and highly recommended.

Okay, I download a program, first I have no idea where the heck it automaticly downloads to but on top ot that I can go to root terminal and still have no clue what to type in. I mean, it seems like this should be a very easy thing to explain to somebody yet still nobody has said what I can do to install something. With $&%^#( you just click on .exe and boom it's done. With Linux, I click on the file I want, fine, I don't know where it downloads to but can click on "find" to get it. NOW WHAT? I'm lost and not going to give up on linix but I need the very simple stuff figured out

Please help me, call me, fedex me, fax me or something so I at least feel like I was able to do something. It's taken me 2 weeks just to find a distro I wanted and get it in my system.

Thank you!
Adam

I don't know much about Ubuntu, I just know it's based on Debian. And in debian you have command apt-get for installing software.
So, open your console/xterm/terminal/whatever as root and type this:

apt-get update
apt-get install thunderbird
apt-get install gimp

And maybe you can check manual of apt-get (run 'man apt-get') or check help of apt-get (apt-get -h).

Does it matter where you download the tarball to? And if you are updating a program are there any things you should different than a normal install?

ubuntu doesn't have a root account as such, you need to sudo it. Don't ask me how. I don't know either but am looking into it. I'll get back to you a.s.a.p.

As for thunderbird, open the tar file and extract it to your home dir under a folder like "thunderbird" or something and double click on the thunderbird file, it should just work out of the box as it were with no "install".

Don't give up on Linux yet, try configuring win! It was much harder than any linux distro I tried on my self built pc, and I tired nearly all of them before settling on mandrake (I'm only playing with ubuntu as it good a good review in linux format).