Re: ubuntu command non-recognition

[Bob Proulx]

Graham Cunnington wrote:
> i have just installed Ubuntu Edgy and i find that

You would have better luck asking your question in the Ubuntu User
mailing list.  This is the GNU Coreutils mailing list.  The GNU
Coreutils are the basic file, shell and text manipulation utilities of
the GNU Operating System.  You can learn more about GNU Coreutils
here:

  http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/
 
The GNU Coreutils are part of the GNU Operating System.  You can learn
more about the GNU Project here:

  http://www.gnu.org/

But you are asking about installing Adobe and RealPlayer.

> it is unable to install proprietary free software specifically made
> for Linux - Adobe Flash Player and RealPlayer -

The term "free software" has specific meaning for us.  It doesn't mean
free of charge.  It means freedom as in freedom.  One of the big
problems with Adobe Flash Player and RealPlayer are that they are not
free software.  It makes working with it very difficult.  You can
learn more about why we distinguish free(dom) software from
free(charge) software here:

  http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

> that is a bug in the Installer,

The GNU Coreutils community, the people you have reached with your
message to the bug-coreutils mailing list, are not associated with any
of those programs Flash or RealPlayer.  You have taken your motorcycle
to a boat shop.

> and it means that i cannot watch my MySpace Videos, Yahoo and Google
> Videos and the BBC news, the latter being my daily habit (until
> ubuntu came along).

The Ubuntu Users mailing list would be the best place to get help.

  http://www.ubuntu.com/support/community/mailinglists

> to try to install myself myself then, i downloaded flashplayer 9 and
> put it in my home directory, and then in a terminal i used the
> following command to change directory: cd /home/graham/flashplayer/
> where i had placed flashplayer 9; then i gave the command:
> 
> sudo install /home/graham/flashplayer/flash-plugin-9.0.124.0-release.i386.rpm
> 
> (1) this sudo install command does not work.

That sudo install command is completely incorrect.  It is wrong for
two reasons.

  1) The install command install individual files and not packages.
     But you are giving it a package.  This is incorrect usage for
     the "install" program.  It is the wrong program for the job.

  2) Ubuntu does not use rpm packages.  Ubuntu uses .deb packages.
     You shouldn't be trying to install a .rpm file on your Ubuntu
     system.

> i was directed to install help but i could not understand a word of
> what was written there:it did not show the command line to give to
> install a program

The install program is not the program you think it is.  Don't use it
for this purpose.  (I could describe what it is for but it isn't
important at this step because you shouldn't be using it.)

> so i tried the following, which is a standard Linux command line,
> and worked for me on Mandriva:
> 
> rpm -Uvh /home/graham/flashplayer/flash-plugin-9.0.124.0-release.i386.rpm
> 
> (3) Ubuntu did not recognise the command "rpm"

Correct.  Ubuntu does not use rpm.  Ubuntu uses dpkg and other related
programs which are completely different than Mandriva's rpm.

> i am disappointed in the quality of this O/S which i had heard so much about.

You have tried to install incompatible software on your machine.  It
didn't work.  But because it was incompatible it could not possibly
have worked.  This should not disappoint you but should confirm that
the universe works as expected.  This is a good thing!  :-)

But as far as the closed source proprietary non-free software is
concerned, such as Flash and RealPlayer, those will be more difficult
to use because they are NON-FREE.  People have made them work but the
licenses on those programs make them problematic.  They can't be
pre-installed and cannot be ported to other systems.  The blame for
the problem rests solely with them.

> can you tell me what specific commands to use to install rpm files
> in Ubuntu, please? This lack of direction is spoiling my user
> experience, as i cannot install programs made for Linux.

Sorry but I cannot help you on this mailing list as that is off-topic
for this community.  But if you go to the Ubuntu pages I am sure that
you will be able to get the appropriate help there.

  http://www.ubuntu.com/support/communitysupport

Bob