My troubles with Linux Ubuntu 8.04

[fern]

After listening to so many people and his hoopla about Linux, I decided to give it a try. So I downloaded it, installed in a partition taking only 30%v of my HD -a common sense precaution- and begun to use it.
But, here comes the problem. If you are not a bloody computer geek, you does not know even how to run a program NOT in included in the package
By example, I downloaded the Linux version of Shredder, that comes compressed with tar, uncompressed it in a directory and then I found I cannot run anything. Linux has not exe files.
So my question:
How in hell you make a program run in Linux?
And if there is a long proceeding that some of you will explain to me, now tell me which is the advantage of a OS that requires a protocol of steps to make run a program?

I hate geeks, Linux and hackers regards
Fernando

[Eizenhammer]

Well, make a (double)click on everything you can see and hope that it starts.
Or, if you want a geekish procedure: try to use your right mouse button and hope you find something like "execute". One of them may be Shredder, possibly.

regards
Peter

[fern]

You are joking. OF course I did all that. Nothing happens. It seems to me you are a jester or you know even less than me.
Fernando

[Eizenhammer]

I dont have this linux shredder. It may be a java application. Ubuntu does not have a java runtime environment preinstalled. To install this may require more than one step and i recommend using google for something like "install java ubuntu 8.04", you'll inevitably find several instructions you can follow step by step. If Shredder is a java application may be mentioned in the readme by SMK. I cannot fancy that there is nothing written about how to use it.

Peter

[Dr.Wael Deeb]

You are joking. OF course I did all that. Nothing happens. It seems to me you are a jester or you know even less than me.
Fernando

Fernando,why the headache brother Uninstall the annoying thing and keep going with your life....
Note that googling on who to install this and how to get that to work will reduce your time of chasing the hot latino chicks all around you

[ilari]

You're barking up the wrong tree. It's not Ubuntu's fault that the developers of Shredder didn't bother to release an easy-to-install .deb package of the program. Or would you blame Windows if you couldn't get a chess engine running without compiling it first? It's also not Ubuntu's fault that Shredder's startup script fails to detect or install Java.

Linux has not exe files.

Linux definitely has executable files. They just don't usually have the .exe extension.

And if there is a long proceeding that some of you will explain to me, now tell me which is the advantage of a OS that requires a protocol of steps to make run a program?

It's the Shredder developers that require you to run the steps, not Ubuntu. It's incredibly easy (one double-click) to install and run applications that are properly packaged.

I hate geeks, Linux and hackers regards

Nice attitude. I like it how you manage to ask for our help and hate us in the same post. Btw, why are you using a beta version of Ubuntu if you're new to Linux? That's just asking for trouble.

[ml]

That's a common reaction among first-time Linux users. Software installation can be a bit difficult under Linux, but there are tools available to make it easier. Linux comes in various "distributions" like Ubuntu, which is what you have (I use Fedora Core 7). If the software is not specifically designed for a particular distribution, then there are a few extra steps involved in getting it installed.

Here's a link to some instructions on how to install software in Ubuntu http://monkeyblog.org/ubuntu/installing/. If you need more help, I'll take a look at the Shredder package and show you step-by-step what needs to be done.

And what is the advantage? Security from malicious software (viruses, spyware, adware). There is no need to constantly update your Internet security software. It's also very stable and efficient (unlike Vista, which uses a lot of resources), and there is plenty of free software available, including the operating system itself.

[fern]

A very sensible advice, for certain, but I wanted to experiment a little it

My best
Fdio

[glorfindel]

Instructions from the Shredder website:

Install the downloaded file with
tar xzf shredderclassic3.tar.gz
in a shell. To start Shredder, execute the script in the created folder.

Did you execute the script (ShredderClassic3)?
To do this, you can open up a terminal and give two commands:
$>cd ShredderClassic3
$>./ShredderClassic3 or $>java -jar LinShredder.jar

Perhaps you can open the Shredder folder with a file manager and just right-click or double-click on ShredderClassic3.

You do not have to be a hacker or a geek.

[fern]

Perhaps no, but still is too much trouble for just to play a game of chess, specially if I can save all that fuzz just clicking in an icon in my windows XP desktop. I am used to that, made for normal users, not problems, everything at hand.
I cannot understand which is the edge of Linux if you must go back to the age of lines of commands. I suppose fans of Linux are the same people that now love to play old vinyl records instead of a CD.
So and in any case I already wiped Linux for good.
I will leave it for people that loves to expend his time in computerish nonsense.
Not my case.
my best
Fernando