Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

briandc · 2011-11-07 17:51:46

Hi everyone,

just a couple of quick questions:

- is synaptic manager usable in this distro? If so, how? If not, why?

- is a firewall necessary? I don't see one in the menu.

- I installed Thunderbird as my mail client, but I have to use file manager and go into the related folder and open it there. How do I put it in the Menu?

Thanks to all in advance. I'm likin' this distro lots!

brian

Last edited by briandc (2011-11-07 22:43:09)

briandc · 2011-11-07 18:09:21

Ok, I've discovered that pacman is a "replacement" of synaptic..

Last edited by briandc (2011-11-07 18:09:47)

Parmazae · 2011-11-07 18:35:36

briandc wrote:

Ok, I've discovered that pacman is a "replacement" of synaptic..

Actually (Arch experts correct me if I'm wrong) but I think pacman is more of a replacement for apt. There are however frontends for pacman just as there are for apt. Check here .

toad · 2011-11-07 19:05:26

Thankfully pacman is a brilliant tool, more so than apt-get (imho but that may be 'cos I haven't touched apt-get in years). Anyway, you also might find this link useful.

briandc · 2011-11-07 19:41:18

Hi toad and Parmazae,
THANKS for the links!
I tried a command to install the app called "stellarium" and this is what I got:

"sudo pacman -S stellarium
error: could not open file /var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db: Failed to open '/var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db'
error: could not open file /var/lib/pacman/sync/extra.db: Failed to open '/var/lib/pacman/sync/extra.db'
error: could not open file /var/lib/pacman/sync/community.db: Failed to open '/var/lib/pacman/sync/community.db'
error: could not open file /var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db: Failed to open '/var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db'
error: could not open file /var/lib/pacman/sync/extra.db: Failed to open '/var/lib/pacman/sync/extra.db'
error: could not open file /var/lib/pacman/sync/community.db: Failed to open '/var/lib/pacman/sync/community.db'
error: could not open file /var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db: Failed to open '/var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db'
error: could not open file /var/lib/pacman/sync/extra.db: Failed to open '/var/lib/pacman/sync/extra.db'
error: could not open file /var/lib/pacman/sync/community.db: Failed to open '/var/lib/pacman/sync/community.db'
error: could not open file /var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db: Failed to open '/var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db'
error: could not open file /var/lib/pacman/sync/extra.db: Failed to open '/var/lib/pacman/sync/extra.db'
error: could not open file /var/lib/pacman/sync/community.db: Failed to open '/var/lib/pacman/sync/community.db'
error: target not found: stellarium"

Am I missing something?

Also, do I need a firewall with this distro?

brian

Last edited by briandc (2011-11-07 20:02:23)

Parmazae · 2011-11-07 19:57:10

I'm afraid I can't help you with the firewall question. I honestly have never used one.

As for the errors. I've had similar errors with certain package mirrors recently. Can you try a different mirror and sync, pacman -Syy.

briandc · 2011-11-07 20:01:59

Parmazae wrote:

I'm afraid I can't help you with the firewall question. I honestly have never used one.
As for the errors. I've had similar errors with certain package mirrors recently. Can you try a different mirror and sync, pacman -Syy.

Thanks much. I've since my last post done a -Syu (my first time ) and it's working well.

brian

fsckd · 2011-11-07 20:17:08

Just a quick question, have you seen our Beginners' Guide? It's for installation but covers many basic commands and concepts Arch users must know.

Also, shifting this thread to Newbie Corner.

toad · 2011-11-07 20:27:27

Whether you need a firewall depends entirely on your requirements. Some routers have them inbuilt into their "firmware". Without more info there is no proper answer. However, you could always check the wiki. I think there is a decent write up on iptables.

PS.: To prevent mirror trouble install reflector - 'kin brilliant tool

Last edited by toad (2011-11-07 20:28:24)

briandc · 2011-11-07 20:29:46

fsckd wrote:

Just a quick question, have you seen our Beginners' Guide? It's for installation but covers many basic commands and concepts Arch users must know.
Also, shifting this thread to Newbie Corner.

Yes, I'm currently looking at some parts that are interesting; the arch distro is still very new, but I'm learning by the minute!

Thanks!

sakisds · 2011-11-07 20:30:32

About the firewall, a lot of people don't use one but it doesn't hurt to have one running. The simplest one to setup in my opinion is UFW, I've been using it for a huge while and it works just fine. It actually a frontend to iptables, the firewall built in the linux kernel.

briandc · 2011-11-07 20:33:17

toad wrote:

Whether you need a firewall depends entirely on your requirements. Some routers have them inbuilt into their "firmware". Without more info there is no proper answer. However, you could always check the wiki. I think there is a decent write up on iptables.
PS.: To prevent mirror trouble install reflector - 'kin brilliant tool

Ya know, I started using a pc with XP, and everyone was so "anti-virus" focused that I think I'm still "recovering" from it all... When I moved over to Linux, the Ubuntu groups told me to use a firewall, and that that was sufficient.

Now, it looks like people aren't even using that! So, it's kinda' like going outside without clothes... and wondering when you'll get arrested...

Do I install reflector from pacman, or from a website like sourceforge?

Thank you for your patience..

Brian

toad · 2011-11-07 20:36:08

Check the wiki, man, check the wiki

jasonwryan · 2011-11-07 20:38:08

briandc wrote:

Do I install reflector from pacman, or from a website like sourceforge?

For every question that you have, there is almost always an answer on the wiki. The community have provided this amazing resource for Arch users, please reward that effort by using it before posting questions here: it will help you to quickly get up to speed both with the technical aspects of Arch and also help you adjust to the Arch Way.

briandc · 2011-11-07 21:01:50

I'm all for the "do-it-yourself" approach. It's just that sometimes asking a question is quicker than searching pages and pages of info. (I spent the whole day away from work today, just to get a bit familiar with Arch!)

tomk · 2011-11-07 21:23:33

If you don't get into the right habits now, your Arch experience will not be rewarding. Yes, asking a question may be quicker for you - but if you keep on asking the kind of questions in this thread, you will rapidly wear out your welcome. Use the available resources, find solutions that work for you, experience that sense of accomplishment that you will never get from just asking questions and being given answers.

briandc · 2011-11-07 21:51:43

tomk wrote:

If you don't get into the right habits now, your Arch experience will not be rewarding. Yes, asking a question may be quicker for you - but if you keep on asking the kind of questions in this thread, you will rapidly wear out your welcome. Use the available resources, find solutions that work for you, experience that sense of accomplishment that you will never get from just asking questions and being given answers.

Well, I think my experience so far has been very rewarding. I'm learning a lot already, and today is my first day with this distro.

The reason I ask questions is because I need to have the computer up and running quickly for my work, and since I wanted to move over to Archlinux, I knew I'd have to learn some new info.

I appreciate the help people give here. I hope I'll be able to help others as well, someday!

Last question: now that I've learned to use pacman to install apps, and I see that it integrates them into the system (menu list, for example) very well.

However, I had already installed Thunderbird as my mail client, but not through pacman. I have the files in a folder I called Download, and I installed it there.

But I have to go to the folder everytime I want to open Thunderbird now.

How can I integrate it into the menu bar, without having to reinstall everything?

Brian

hauzer · 2011-11-07 22:04:29

You can't. Move the personal data somewhere safe, install Thunderbird via pacman and then copy the personal data back into the proper directory. Any wild install not managed by pacman is useless cluttering.

Last edited by hauzer (2011-11-07 22:04:47)

briandc · 2011-11-07 22:08:44

hauzer wrote:

You can't. Move the personal data somewhere safe, install Thunderbird via pacman and then copy the personal data back into the proper directory. Any wild install not managed by pacman is useless cluttering.

Got it. Will do.
Thanks..

PS. I think we can mark this thread "solved" now; I can't find how to do it...

Last edited by briandc (2011-11-07 22:09:37)

hauzer · 2011-11-07 22:11:12

Edit the first post and (a/pre)ppend [SOLVED] to the title.

Arch Linux

#1 2011-11-07 17:51:46

Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#2 2011-11-07 18:09:21

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#3 2011-11-07 18:35:36

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#4 2011-11-07 19:05:26

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#5 2011-11-07 19:41:18

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#6 2011-11-07 19:57:10

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#7 2011-11-07 20:01:59

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#8 2011-11-07 20:17:08

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#9 2011-11-07 20:27:27

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#10 2011-11-07 20:29:46

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#11 2011-11-07 20:30:32

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#12 2011-11-07 20:33:17

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#13 2011-11-07 20:36:08

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#14 2011-11-07 20:38:08

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#15 2011-11-07 21:01:50

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#16 2011-11-07 21:23:33

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#17 2011-11-07 21:51:43

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#18 2011-11-07 22:04:29

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#19 2011-11-07 22:08:44

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

#20 2011-11-07 22:11:12

Re: Silly first questions... (SOLVED)

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