Hi all,

Ok, i have used Linux now for a month and i love it.

Anyway, im using Mepis right now and the only function i dont understand is:

1) How do i download a hardware driver and install it? is there an .exe file like Windows?
2) How would i install other programs such as Yahoo! IM for example? and how would i activate the installation process?

If i can nail these 2 issues, i can freely start converting my friends from Windows to Linux

Thanks all!

1)
no there is no such thing as .EXEs on linux (at least in the way they are on windows). which hardware driver are you looking for?
if you know the model, make, etc, for the hardware, then of course search yahoo or google or the manufacturer's website for a driver download. once you have downloaded and extracted the file, in there will be instructions (if not, then there will be on the page where you got it from) on how to load/install the driver/module.

2)
check out this link about installing software, by one of the moderators of lq.org, or search google about installing on linux if that isnt detailed enough.
the first post on that link is a how to install programs from 'source' (code). although i havent read it, but it looks good, the 2nd post looks like a howto install programs by using packages. when possible, use packages to install programs (ie, .deb, .rpm, etc)

ok, so, look up gaim. (or goto http://freshmeat.net and look up IM) there are a bunch of multi-protocol IM clients.

there is no .exe file for linux- that's a windows thing. It depends on the distro, but there are a myriad of different packaging systems, the simplest and the most common is .tar.gz which is used to package straight source code- other packaging systems have other fun stuff included.

Sorry if this is too general for you, but you really don't have a specific question.... If you are looking for learning, google is your friend. If you are looking for answers to a specific problem, then let us know, and we'll try to help.

hope this helps.

titanium_geek

to install in mepis, open "Synaptic" from the k menu or from the teeny tiny icon in the lower-left corner (a mouse hover will pop up its name). Then you can search for a program (package) or a description.

For IM'ing, the best two are Kopete or Gaim; each have their ups and downs (kopete loses compatibility occasionally with official protocols, i.e. MSN doesn't like it; Gaim has a poor interface, IMHO)

good luck! and YES convert those heathen friends of yours.

Hi,

Is this a program i have to download and does it work like Winzip? and WinRAR?

a .tar.gz file is basicly a .zip (different algorythm of compression so they arent exactly the same) the tools to extract that are already there. the program is called ark if you need a GUI or tar in the command line.

however almost everything is packaged into debian files (.deb) read this little howto on installing software from the MEPIS Wiki.