How do I install a program from a disk on Ubuntu Linux?

I am new to Linux and have been using Windows all my life. I do not understand how to install any program from a CD or a download from the internet.





I know I can go to Add/Remove to download new software, but how do I install it from anywhere else? I can not even update the flash player for Firefox, because I don't know how to install it!





It seems much more complicated than Windows at any rate.

How do I install a program from a disk on Ubuntu Linux?
If its a program from a cd it may not work. Ill assume that it is windows software. It may work under WINE emulation, workability varies. If downloading from the internet, the installer that Ubuntu used is called a .DEB file. And, if a program doesnt have an ubuntu installer, you can usually compile from its source code (not always easy).





For flash, go to the link below. Download the tarball (.tar.gz file). Extract the contents. open the newly created folder (install_flash_player_9_linux). Double click on flashplayer-installer. When the prompt comes up, "run in terminal". Follow the commands and enjoy.
Reply:Windoze is complicated. Especially for those that don't know it. Linux is complicated. Especially for those that don't know it.





I use system, administration, synaptic package manager - and adobe flash player is available there. You may need to enable restricted, non-free software.





If you read what appears on the screen, you can often decipher what it says.





Why don't you start with the basics, getting a good, stable Ubuntu system running. Then add a few programs - one at a time, getting each one running, before you try adding another one?





You don't use Add/Remove for software under Linux/Ubuntu. You either use apt-get or the easier, much easier Synaptic - which is in the menu system, under System, administration.





Save the hard stuff for last - and start using the Ubuntu forums and google. You can often find programs that are compiled for Ubuntu with a google search, even when they don't appear in synaptic's list. Where there are programs, there are usually instructions.





Read, heed, and proceed.


Seek and ye shall find. Ask and it takes a while!