[AktiviX-discuss] Breaking ubuntu...

[john levin]

Dan Olner wrote:
> Hia, 
> 
> Cheers... it's working with POP as mail server... er, which is odd.
> 
> But next problem: apologies if this is the wrong list...
> 
> I tried to install Thunderbird, and am still having fun learning how to
> install stuff with linux.  Some of it's straightforward enough, and some
> of it is horrendous.
> 
> But now I seem to have broken something.
> 
> I did this: I thought I needed the thunderbird app files in the usr/bin
> folder, since that's where apps go...? But it was CHMOD'd to 755, so I
> changed to 777 using SUDO to pretend to be root.
> 

You shouldn't need to do anything like this at all when installing 
software through synaptic/apt-get. Package management is one of the best 
things about Ubuntu, based as it is on Debians apt system. This installs 
everything for you, checks dependencies (and installs them), and makes 
installation consistent. Wherever possible, install using synaptic! Make 
sure that you have enabled the 'universe' repository (Synaptic > 
Settings > Repositories) for all the community-tested software (giving 
17,000 packages and counting).
(And if you find a bug, report it and it will get fixed.)


> Now it won't let me change it back, even when using SUDO, and it's not
> letting me run the synaptic package manager any more.  I get this:
> 
> sudo: must be setuid root
> 
> When I try to CHMOD back to 755
> 
> EEK! What have I done? (it suddenly occurs to me I should have just
> moved the file using SUDO... ah well...)
> 

This forum page may address your problem:
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-35130.html

> So - 
> 
> 1. What should do about usr/bin? Where should I be putting apps?

See above. Let synaptic do the hard work.

> 
> 2. Is there a good guide somewhere for beginner peeps like me, coz at
> the minute it's all google n forums, which is proving messy. (Me n a
> friend have already broken everything and had to re-install once when
> trying to get a local MySQL server going...)
> 

The main Ubuntu resources are:
http://ubuntuforums.org/ - forums
#ubuntu on irc.freenode.net - irc
http://news.gmane.org/index.php?prefix=gmane.linux.ubuntu - easily 
readable mailing lists without need for subscribing
http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ - all the official ubuntu 
mailing lists.
http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk - the UK ubuntu list. 
Low traffic, so you might prefer this to the main ubuntu-users list, 
which has around 200 emails a day.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com// - the official ubuntu wiki (which I find 
rather difficult to navigate, although others say it is excellent.)

And remember the Ubuntu code of conduct:
http://www.ubuntu.com/community/conduct
Not that I think you'll turn the mailing lists into flame-fests - ;)
- but as a newbie you have a right to be able to ask questions and get 
help without getting 'RTFM'/geek superiority etc. Really, the community 
is one of the things that makes Ubuntu stand out, because it's all about 
sharing and supporting, 'linux for human beings' as the slogan has it.

> 3. Which list should I be pestering?
> 

Don't know what others think about these questions, but I have no 
problem with them. That said, if you had asked about Gentoo, I wouldn't 
have been able to answer (never used it).

Question for everyone on the list: what distros do you use? What distros 
do you recommend to others?
Leading to: how best can we share distro-specific knowledge?

> Cheers!
> 
> Dan

John