Remote web server - So, to continue the example, you would search
So, to continue the example, you would search again but this time usingirfanview linux equivalent. Now you start to see a program calledxnviewmentioned. It wouldn t hurt to turn around and look and seewhether your distribution s software installation manager offers thisprogram, before you bother installing it by hand. 3.Do a Web search on the Linux program you re interested in. You more often than not find the program s home page. 4.Click through to that program s home page. 5.Click through the Download link on that page. 6.Locate and download the most specific version matching your distribution. You may be offered, say, Windows, Unix, and Linux options. You wouldchoose Linux in that case. If offered Linux x86 versus Linux ppc, choosex86 unless you re using Linux on an Apple Macintosh computer (whichis not covered in this book). If you re offered an RPM or a tarball (see thebeginning of this chapter for more information on these), then choosean RPM if you re using Fedora, SuSE, or Mandrake, and a tarball if you reusing Linspire or Xandros or if you tried the RPM on your Fedora, SuSE, or Mandrake system and it didn t work. 7.Once you have the program downloaded, install it as follows: If it s an RPM, open your file manager and double-click the down- load in order to install it. If it s a tarball, open your file manager and double-click the file inorder to open it up and look at its contents. There should be a filein there called README or INSTALL. This file contains instructionson what you need to do, and there may be more instructions avail- able on the Web site itself. Working with tarballs just requires prac- tice; it gets easier over time, so extract the file and get to it! Upgrading Your OSWhen a new version of your Linux distribution comes out, you may find thatyou want to upgrade to it. Typically, you can upgrade by downloading or pur- chasing the new version, starting it just as you would start a new installationbut choosing Upgrade instead of Install. That s it! 262Part III:Getting Up to Speed with Linux