Ubuntu software installation

apt-get moo

So, you've decided to install Ubuntu.  Good for you.  Now let's install some software.

Installing pre-compiled packages in Ubuntu is actually pretty straightforward, but finding your software can be confusing.  Let's say you wanted to install Chromium, Google Chrome's open-source equivalent.  Do some research and check if the software is available for Ubuntu.

If it is, open up the terminal and type apt-cache search chromium (or apt-cache search packagename).  This searches your local repository cache for packages related to the search query.  You should see a package called chromium-browser.  That's the name of the package we need to install.  

Do you see it?

To install a package, type sudo apt-get install packagename, or in our case, sudo apt-get install chromium-browser.  You need to type the package name as it appears in the apt-cache results.

If you want to install another package, I recommend gnome-games.  If you want to listen to MP3 files or watch DVDs or something, you should check out the Ubuntu page on Restricted Formats and install the package they recommend.