OzOS comes with a small range of productivity and 'net applications. These may be enough for some users but most people will want to at least try a few alternatives - if not totally revamp their installation to suit their particular needs. Linux provides free access to an incredible range of Free and Open Source software. Finding and installing it is probably easier that you think.
Let's look three of the more simple ways to do this on OzOS without exposing your set-up to potential instability or security risks. First, Synaptic - the graphical "front-end" to the Debian package management system, then apt:foo - a web based point-and-click application of the same thing and finally, the command line tool, apt.
1.Synaptic
As an Ubuntu-based distribution, OzOS provides access to the software "repositories" maintained by Canonical for all Ubuntu variants. It also uses the Debian "deb" package format and has all the tools you need built in. The most important of these for newer users is "Synaptic Package Manager" (or just "Synaptic").
If you used our OzOS installation guide (here), you will already know a fair bit about using Synaptic to update your existing set-up. We concentrate here on using it to find and install supplementary software.
In a default OzOS installation all the relevant Ubuntu and OzOS repositories are already enabled. You can see their names by selecting "Software Sources" from the Synaptic menu. If you ever need to add new repositories, this is one place where you can do it.
Start Synaptic from a menu (its on the default OzOS "Favorities" menu). If you can't find a menu entry, open a terminal and type "gksudo synaptic")
Synaptic Package Manager on an OzOS Favorities Menu
You may need to enter your password.
Whenever using Synaptic, its a good idea to go through the update process before you add anything new.
Use the buttons for "Reload", "Mark All Updates" and "Apply" (in that order) to fully update your installation.
When the updates finish, its time to have some fun.
You can browse the available software by categories but Synaptic's "Search" button is where you will probably want to start. You can search by program name or by any key word. Try it with a few words so you get the idea. Try "game" or "font" or "web browser" for examples of searches that will return lots of results. "Tux racer" "Frozen Bubble" or " " will return just a few results.
For this "walk-through" we'll install a particular set of multimedia codecs that enable proprietary music and video formats to work with FOSS media players. Let's say you have asked about media formats on a forum and someone advises you to install a package called "ubuntu-restricted-extras". We will search for "restricted-extras" and see what happens.
Searching for "restricted-extras" brings up a short list of alternative packages - including the one we want - ubuntu-restricted-extras (see next image).
Selecting the package name brings up a window with information about the package. If you decide it is the package you want, select it with the right mouse button and choose "install" from the drop-down list.
Right clicking on the package name brings up a drop down menu. Select "install".
Notice that there are a few other alternatives on that drop-down menu too, including several "grayed-out" entries for uninstalling packages. If you ever want to get rid of installed software, you can do it from Synaptic.
You will also notice that once you have selected a package to install, the "Apply" button now becomes active again. You can either click it now to install "ubuntu-restricted-extras" or do more searches to select more packages to install. It doesn't matter how many packages you select - unless you are running of disk space.
When you do click "Apply", you will be presented with a complete list of packages to install. Don't worry if there's more listed that you actually selected - Synaptic takes care of "dependencies" by finding all the other little programs and code libraries needed to properly run your selected packages.
When you accept the list (by clicking "Apply" on the list box), Synaptic proceeds to do two things automatically - it downloads the required files from the repositories and it then unpacks and installs them on your computer.
Usually you just let this happen - but "ubuntu-restricted-extras" is a bit different in requiring you to click through a few pop-up dialogs on the way. Some packages in ubuntu-restricted-extras require you to formally agree to license agreements. (that's partly why we chose it for this walk-through!). In Linux-speak, the word "restricted" in a package name means it does not fully conform to the standard FOSS license (called the GPL) but has some restrictions on its use. In the case of the codecs in the "ubuntu-restricted-extras" package, this means you will have to agree to one of those proprietary "End User License Agreements" (or EULAs) before it will install. Synaptic will "trap" the relevant license agreements and present them to you during the install process. You need to check the "agree" box and proceed (if you want to - if you do not agree, the package will not be installed).
Once the installation is complete, you can close Synaptic (or search again!). Any graphical applications will now have an e17 menu entry (under Applications). Utilities, such as codecs, will simply be available to the applications that can use them - like media players or your web browser.
2. apt:foo
In the never-ending quest to make Linux software installation so simple an untrained invertebrate could do it, the OzOS team has developed apt:foo. Imagine for a moment a software installation system so simple that you just click an icon on a web page and the software you want is downloaded and installed. No, this isn't some futuristic sci-fi movie with bad special effects and wooden actors - its a "reality different" as brought to you by OzOS and CafeLinux!
apt:foo is just that - a web page crammed full of icons and software names that will respond to your mouse clicks. Check it out now.
One section of the apt:foo page. apt:foo can supplement the default programs that come with OzOS or any Debian-based distro. The list of programs available is not exhaustive - but there should be enough there to keep you amused or busy for quite a while.
Honestly, apt:foo is nothing more than an implementation of a small open-source program called apturl. By activating (clicking) an "apt:....." link in a web page, you send input to your Debian package manager telling it to find, download and install a particular program (the "foo" bit). Apt:foo does nothing that can't be done with routine "apt" commands via the terminal on your own computer or via Synaptic.
Its there if you just want quick access to the listed programs - which are those most commonly sought out by new users. It is not really a long-term alternative to learning how to use Synaptic or apt-get.
Because it relies totally on the package management software of you own computer and on the repositories that are already enabled (via Synaptic or a file called "sources.lst" on your computer), apt:foo is as secure as using your own package manager. THIS MAY NOT BE CASE WITH OTHER WEB-BASED PACKAGE INSTALLERS! We urge OzOS users to be cautious, and even a little suspicious, of any installer software not endorsed by the maintainers of your distro (that's us, by the way).
3. apt
We've saved the best till last. Sort of. Everything that Synaptic can do visually, the command-line program called "apt" (and its children, apt-get, apt-cache, apt-file and few others) can do faster and with bells on.
For example, all that step-by-step stuff with ubuntu-restricted-extras we went through with Synaptic could have been done with a couple of lines typed in at the terminal:
sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get upgrade
(to update and upgrade all packages on your system), followed by:
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-retricted-extras
You will be asked for your password ("sudo" gives you super-user powers) and to confirm installation.
You can use apt-get to install multiple packages with a single command:
sudo apt-get install package1 package2 package3 etc....
apt-get can also uninstall and remove packages.
Using apt-cache allows you to search for a package (or a key word) in the repositories and apt-file lets you get information about a package - such as version number, description and which repository it is in.
To see the full list of apt command options, just type:
man apt
in a terminal. A much more extensive manual is available from the Debian site at http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/apt-howto/ . Wikipedia devotes an extensive page to apt,which is,well, apt.
Don't forget - the list of repositories enabled for your machine is in a file called "sources.list". You can add (or delete) repositories from within synaptic or by editing that file directly (eg. by using the scite text editor as super user.)
Using the command line interface (or CLI or "terminal") can be daunting for new users but there are many routine, and not so routine, actions that are both faster and easier this way. You don't have to become a cli master geek overnight and using it occassionally to install packages or do simple file management tasks will help build your skill and confidence levels.
Conclusion
As with most things in Linux, there's more that one way to find and install new packages. We've covered three ways here and many users will never need to go beyond these to get full value from their distribution. If you are tempted, or need to, install a package from sources other than the Ubuntu or OzOS repositories, make sure you understand and, if possible, eliminate all risks by ensuring that the source is trustworthy.
