requesting a little support for downloading Ubuntu software.

[JOB]

Hi guys.

I've been doing a little tinkering here and there and, as an average
Ethiopian, the major, and annoying, challenge I've found to using
Ubuntu is getting software. For people who don't have their own
internet connection, getting software can be really problematic if not
outright impractical. You can't download software off another online
PC to take home and install it there. I'm sure most of you know the
'dependency-hell' problem; there's always some dependency you're
missing.

I've tried to bring up that in brainstorm.ubuntu.com. I wanted you all
to sign up and support the idea of including all dependencies during
the download of the 'main package' (idea #27120). Of course my idea
has to be moved from the 'idea sandbox' to the 'popular ideas' before
you can vote on it, but I believe you can achieve it by writing
supportive comments on it. Also, I think it would be good if we manage
to get as many people as possible involved as well. We have to manage
to get it voted to be looked up by the developers, otherwise Ubuntu
and Linux will be the solution just for online users.

PLEASE help me out here. I really look forward to getting your support.

[tegegne tefera]

eyob

See if this two links answer your question. 

http://www.debian-administration.org/article/648/Offline_Package_Management_for_APT

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=342865

[tegegne tefera]

apt-offline seems a great tool. I have not used it my self so let us know your experiance. There is also a GUI to it but it seems it is not yet stable. So if I were you I would use the command line. It is only few commands.

[tegegne tefera]

some more helpful tips

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallingSoftware

Especially the offline instalation part

[Dawit Habtamu]

Euro apt-get install aptoncd

& enjoy life!! I used to have that problem too until the aptoncd MAGIC!! You can even put all your packages into one or multiple images (ISO) & burn them ... really cool
...

Please let us know if this helps ... :) ... cheers

Sent from my Nexus One, Google Phone ... Android Rules! ;-)

[eyob fitwi]

I'll try APT offline, though I don't know how it will help in updating my repository, which I definitely need to do right now. Searched for APTonCD, and sourceforge says there are no files. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallingSoftware doesn't help much. Keryx looks good but can be a little complicated to use.

You could find workarounds to install software offline. My point is, what I'm tryng to do on brainstorm.ubuntu.com is the get the developers to pay attention to this issue and find a way to install software offline without any hassle - click, download and install; perion - instead of working through workarounds and dealing with unexpected setbacks. This particularly won't help in bringing in newbies, especially for Ethiopians and others living in developing countries who couldn't afford an internet connection. This is not about me, but for the many others out there who don't have an internet connection as well. Just take a look at my suggestion there and give your comments about it; or better yet, let's start a big movement here to tackle this issue.

[Dawit Habtamu]

I like your idea ... it's awesome!  I actually have an idea to Re-master an Ubuntu distro & put all the apps we'll need here in Ethiopia. ... so that way, it will look so much like what you said: install & enjoy!

It's a dream ... also a necessity :)

Sent from my Nexus One, Google Phone ... Android Rules! ;-)

On Feb 8, 2011 11:57 AM, "eyob fitwi" <eyob....@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'll try APT offline, though I don't know how it will help in updating my
> repository, which I definitely need to do right now. Searched for APTonCD,
> and sourceforge says there are no files.
> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallingSoftware doesn't help much.
> Keryx looks good but can be a little complicated to use.
>
> You could find workarounds to install software offline. My point is, what
> I'm tryng to do on brainstorm.ubuntu.com is the get the developers to pay
> attention to this issue and find a way to install software offline without
> any hassle - click, download and install; perion - instead of working
> through workarounds and dealing with unexpected setbacks. This particularly
> won't help in bringing in newbies, especially for Ethiopians and others
> living in developing countries who couldn't afford an internet connection.

> This is *not about me*, but for the many others out there who don't have an

[Dawit Habtamu]

By the way, did anybody listen to the Afro FM 105.3 broadcast last Saturday?  I'd really want to know ... plus, this week we'll have an Ethiopian Linux professional from Canada on the show ... same time same URL (online)

Please go to the Facebook page .... get your comments in ... let's get the ball rolling :)

Enjoy!

Sent from my Nexus One, Google Phone ... Android Rules! ;-)

[eyob fitwi]

That would be a great idea! Of course you may have to either make variants of it (for e.g., educational needs are different from multimedia ones, regarding the kind of ready-made software they would require), or you could create an offline installing mechanism integrated into the remastered version.

As for Saturday, I'm sorry to say that I missed it. It was Saturday afternoon when I read your email informing what time it would be broadcasted (I was so pissed off!!) I guess I'll have to catch it next Saturday.

Cheers!!

[tegegne tefera]

Hi Eyob

I don't mean to discourage you, but I tought I may interject what I think about the subject so if it answers it may save you a few hours from investing your energy. 

I am no coder. I am just an enthusiastic linux user. this is the opinion of total armature. so take it with a grain of scepticism:-). I believe what you are asking is almost a windows type self contained installation binary file. Which is one of the reasons windows systems are so bloated because there is a lot of redundancy. On the other hand there is the linux way, which is leveraging what is already built in in the system. That makes it lean, mean and much more secure, especially if you build it yourself from the source file, and where the dependency hell comes in. 

Package managers like APT and RPM meant to alleviate this problem by auto identifying dependencies and pulling them down. For purists this package managers are not good enough because they tend to keep a lot of unnecesary cods in the system to reduce the instance of system break, which for linux geeks usually easy to fix but nightmare for you and me.

what you are asking (offline installation and updating) can be done albeit with a little bit of learning curve but what you are proposing to avoid this learning curve would make the linux system bloated like windows and makes it unstable (as bloated systems are always) and no developer would spend his/her time on it. 

speaking of updating one thing you have to remember is that it is necessary basically for security reasons. If you are not connected to internet that is not much of a concern either. So the cost of what you are proposing in terms of time to develop it and stability does not match with the benefit. There is a GUI for apt-offline but it is concidered unstable and resides in the unsatble package.

By the way ubuntu is a great system for everyday use and makes most of us (windows refugees) more at home. But any one who is interesed and wants to benefit the true power and stability of linux has to use ubuntu as a bridge to Debian. And if one has time and pacience to gentoo and then to the ultimate linux elegance and simplicity experiance. that is building it from the source code.

Dawit

I am so sorry. I am not at home and on a relatively slow connection and can not stream audio. I hope there are audio files of the programs so that i can listen to them when I come home which reminds me of another idea. I hope you are keeping tab of all the ideas I am shooting at you. 

Your show and other educational audio files can be shared by mobile telphone users easily in mp3 format. Many of the phones today have bluetooth and many people in Ethiopia are already sharing songs and other things through bluetooth. Why not educatonal programs, audio books....etc???

Again it is a mater of networking.

[eyob fitwi]

I thought that my proposal intends to avail an 'online only' means of obtaining the necessary packages through offline means as well. I don't see a reason to included packages that are not dependent in the automatic zipped file I suggested. The download file would contain the packages, dependent and all, that would've been required by Synaptic online in the first place, in a zipped file so that it could be convenient for download. I don't see the difference apart from adding just another route (offline way) of getting packages; no more, no less. It doesn't have to ready-made, but upon clicking on the desired software, gimp for e.g., an automatic background process would identify the dependencies and include them all in a zipped file generated on the spot on demand (i think this may take a little time, but its practical i guess). These other packages that are included as well are the ones that would've been added anyway using the online way.

I would've used the Synaptic generate download script, but that is useless to me now unless I update Synaptic (there are lots of packages missing), for which I need a connection.

I wish there was a learning curve I could go through that would solve my problem, but currently it seems as if we have to admit that linux doesn't have a practical solution for offline downloads. Keryx seemed to have taken the best approach, but with Maverick its a little complicated to use. There are issues of what you can install on the online computer you can use even if you get the hang of using Keryx I'll try the suggestion on some of the help webpages (tried to use them but when I reopened them after saving them on my flash the text gets kind of corrupted - I've copied the text to a text file now).

I don't know what I missed or if I misrepresented my idea, but keep your suggestions coming. But perhaps I've found an alternative in brainstorm.ubuntu.com that we can use, which is available for voting. Check out Idea #11461, #5768 & #4507. It would be really cool for me, and everyone else I'm sure.

By the way, why are only the three of us participating? let's poke the others; they're part of the team too!!

[Dawit Habtamu]

Hey Eyob, I've got to tell you, man, the first time I had my Ubuntu 8.04, there were many nights I cried alone ... :D ... you know, from not knowing if something that I was facing was a probability to be solved or not?! I just did not know! Sometimes, I would go to the forums (or I must say I went there all the time) :) ... and I would be even ashamed to ask some questions because they were just silly and I wanted things to be simplified as much as possible. It didn't all happen at once, I have to confess! 

So the idea of getting a system that "just works" out of the box is appealing ... Like Tegegn said, the pure Linux experience may only be found after some learning curve, and I have yet to get there :( ... (Oh by the way, I just remembered the Doro Wat and Difo Dabbo I had for lunch) ... okay back to topic, :D ... The ultimate goal for all of us would be to have a system that would be easy enough to not be intimidating and also retain its glory by not sacrificing it in the name of being user-friendly! So, I'm trying to say that some of the new things and other stuff you have to do to get a system that fits you completely needs to still be there and people have to learn it! ... but we're not saying "our way, or the highway" ... we still want to give people all the help we can possibly give them and encourage them too.

I think this summarizes all that we're talking about: Simplicity with ease of use AND not too complicated a process for the user, especially when it comes to getting things like music/video codecs, application programs, Windows-to-Linux migration help, etc ... 

And that's why, I thought of, just as an idea and a dream, to have an Ubuntu-Ethiopia release that would be almost identical to the official release but would have packages like Amharic input (for openoffice), calendar, codecs, a short introduction video for the user in Amharic, nice Ethiopian backgrounds ... you know, cool stuff like that. So, what do you think guys?

Now, both of you (and others reading these messages) MUST not miss this Saturday! Like I said, we'll have a guest from Canada and we'll have some Linux fun! 

@ Tegegn: sorry about your connection ... but would still wish that you listened online. Of course, I shared the ideas you sent me "computer ikub!" ... it makes sense and I'm sure has people talking about it! Thanks for that ... please keep them coming!

@ Eyob: I'm guessing you will find the time to listen in this Saturday ... it'll be awesome to get your text and stuff like that ... we're working on having people register for a live Linux presentation so that they can either bring their laptop and we do it for free or just use a big screen and show everybody "who" Ubuntu is :) !

Let me know of ideas you want to be shared ... I'm more than willing to do so!

Great guys! Linux away, then! :)

P.S. - Yes, you, the non-participating reader of this group! Yes, you! Write us! Let us hear your voice ... we NEED YOU! You're part of the team, just like Eyob said! 

--
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Dawit
+251-91-188-8858 (cell)
dawit....@gmail.com
dawith...@yahoo.com
dawit_...@hotmail.com

Skype: dawit.habtamu

Dawit Habtamu
P. O. Box 13474
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia

[tegegne tefera]

Eyob

God willing when I come home I will try to test the apt-offline and see. It is difficult to comment when I have not used it. I guess we just have to try harder till we get it right! don't we?

Dawit

I promise to listen when i come home. Just keep thos pod casts arround. Speaking of pod casting, it may well be a solution to the problem of lack of internet access. sharing files of all kind. I see people collecting thousands of paper books from abroad, put them in a container (pay thousands of dolars), send them all the way to Ethiopia. When it arrives there it is kept in a library serving no more than 24 people per year, if it arives at home at all. 

Compare that with a couple of cds full of books, that can be coppied at will to hundred of thousands of people. Add "computer equb" to that and you greatly reduce the problem of reference and educational material of Ethiopians who are thrsty of knowlwdge, which seems is everybody.

In Europe there is a kind of "equb" for cars. it is called car pool. The idea is that there is no need for every one to buy a car. Most people use a car only for a few hours a day and the car just sits there for the rest of the day. That is waste of a lot of money and resources. It may need a bit if coordination but say 10 or 20 people can arrange to use 3 cars without affecting their productivity. That saves them a lot of money and resources. Ethiopians have this culture if we go to the rural area in the form of Debo and Equb. Sharing resources is a well established culture in Ethiopia. It is possible to apply this to our modern needs too.

[eyob fitwi]

Actually, I got used to Ubuntu a lot more quickly than normal. That's why I'm hooked with it and I don't want to give up so easily. I think I've got the linux experience already. I'm not looking for it to be extra easy as well, but hoof! if I'm having trouble trying to install software offline, then I'm just saying that it could use a little improvement in this area. The problem is I think that offline users have been almost neglected from the developers' side. If you have an internet, really, then Ubuntu is one of the easiest to use, even more so than Windows. You don't even have to identify the software you want; you've got a Software Center that lists and categorizes all the software for you! And as of 11.04, users' reviews will be even included in it. Choice made easier. You don't get that from M$. Its almost perfect, and very easy to use. Offline, things go in a direction that is a little too different in this regard. Let me make a note; as far as I'm concerned Ubuntu is cool in every regard. Installing software offline is the only minor challenge I'm facing.

Yes, what I'm basically saying is that the process shouldn't be too complicated. (Even after going through the complications I still haven't found a way to install software). I'm not the type that wants to be fed with a few software and be content with that. I want the ability to explore and go crazy, so being able to install software of my choice is important for me now. Besides, I've got a multimedia and a little programming (I'm not a programmer one bit, but intend to teach myself in the future) tendency so I'll need a number of extra software that are not present in the regular release. One 'solution' is to go to packages.ubuntu.com and download all the packages and listed dependencies, but the dependencies and their own dependencies could be very numerous and eventually you'll miss some. All I'm asking is if we could convince the developers to make the website organized so that it will automatically download all the packages compressed in a zipped file so we would save time and wouldn't miss any dependency. That's not much to ask is it? :-) . I know there's Keryx, but it could be a little complicated for some users and those who don't have the necessary permissions on online Windows PCs.

I don't mind learning anything, in fact I like it. But it must inevitably bring me a solution, otherwise it would be just frustrating.

For mainstream users, Ubuntu-Ethiopia would (or Ethiobuntu, ) would be very sufficient, and as I said I support it (check out Linux Mint, I think they would suit the average Ethiopian). But for guys like us, especially who have a tendency to explore with no desire to unnecessarily crack ourselves finding a solution, we'll need to tackle this hopefully minor issue.

Definitely going to listen on Saturday. I sent an SMS a few months ago when you presented the show about how people can order from shipit. I would like to help if I can (though I don't know what I can do exactly) with the presentation. Another idea is to open a pro-linux website dedicated to Ethiopians.

[eyob fitwi]

You know, this idea of 'equb' crossed my mind when I was asking a friend of mine to lend me his CDMA for a while so that I could rid of this synaptic problem. Guess what sparked in my mind? Internet 'equb'!! That, my friend, looks like a perfect solution for me. Sure you'll need to come up with rules on how to pay for the recharging card time and stuff, but it looks as if it is practical. How about that?

[Teferra]

Selam Eyob
Sorry for the late reply. I was swarmed with mails and yours got
buried under the pile. The Equb can be implemented on any thing that
is scarce and can be shared. Not only that it is a great way of saving
material and money even if one has the means. for example cars are
usually on average used a few hours or minuets a day. The rest of the
day they just sit there and collect rust. If ten people buy ten cars
and use them for 15 years each after that time there will be 10 old
cars that are polluting the environment and making less productive and
costing money since they are not taking advantage of the new
innovations came after wards. But if the ten people do some
coordinating they will have a new car or 2 every five year without
loosing any thing. That means they would have spent money maximum on 6
cars in 15 years with better usability and service. There will be less
hassle than owning one self and 6 times reliable than owning one car.
I am guessing in this group there are some who are in a university
environment and it is a perfect place to implement this ideas. It is a
place where there is a concentration of cash strapped students with
high need for information and having once own computer with a
reasonable internet connection for a few hours a day or a few days a
week can save them a lot of hassle and on the long run definitely
cheaper than roaming internet cafes. the benefits are enomus. It only
needs making an effort to setting up a ground rule and coordination.
From a social perspective it is a great way of enhancing friendship.

On Feb 10, 12:59 pm, eyob fitwi <eyob.fi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> You know, this idea of 'equb' crossed my mind when I was asking a friend of
> mine to lend me his CDMA for a while so that I could rid of this synaptic
> problem. Guess what sparked in my mind? Internet 'equb'!! That, my friend,
> looks like a perfect solution for me. Sure you'll need to come up with rules
> on how to pay for the recharging card time and stuff, but it looks as if it
> is practical. How about that?
>

> >>> others; they're part of the team too!! [?]
>
> >>> On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 7:35 PM, tegegne tefera <tefera.tege...@gmail.com

> ...
>
> read more »
>
>  360.gif
> < 1KViewDownload

[Dawit Habtamu]

Yes, our dear "Aleka" you are a little too late in the discussion :) ... BUT, I have finally given my ISO images of ubuntu to a Software distributing center in Addis (around hayahulet mazoria) and anyone can go and get it for a *small fee* ... wish I could make it free, but the guys pay rent and stuff ... so it's just their fee (nothing for me ... lol) Open source should be free!!!

I'm in Nairobi now and will be back in three weeks ... I will go on air at Afro FM 105.3 after I get back home. I hope to give the guy at hayahulet mazoria more iso images and advertise our location on the radio better.

Yes, Ikub could work ... But I keep feeling like there has to be a better alternative ... I'm sure we can come up with something like that!

Cheers for now! 

[tegegne tefera]

Dawit

I should be upset for taking my idea and running away with it:-). That is great. You should give it to every internet cafe to have a little bit of competition. Have you advised them to install it on some of the computers as well? I hope it will it will catch up fast.

By the way is there any where i can find the radio programs you have broadcast previously, like pod cast?

By the way podcasting is a great way of transmitting educational info in Ethiopia. I have seen the mobile telephones people use in addis (if not all) are capable of transmitting content over Bluetooth. so people can share short infos in audio form.

cheers

tegegne

[Dawit Habtamu]

Hey Aleka!

The dream is common: to Linuxize Ethiopia! ! The mission is accomplished by taking the baby steps: ISO images :) ... radio is awesome & will help us advertise it better ... no podcasts so far ... maybe in the future ...

Selama selama! (Kiswahili influence, what can I say ... I'm on Nairobi! !) Lol

Sent from my Nexus One, Google Phone ... Android Rules! ;-)

[eyob fitwi]

Hey Dave,

I tried to look for APTonCD but it seems the website sourceforge doesn't have any files in connection with it. What am I missing? Also, I'm still stuck on the offline software installation. Any new ideas?

On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 5:35 PM, Dawit Habtamu <dawit....@gmail.com> wrote:

[Dawit Habtamu]

Hey Eyob!

Good to hear from you. I will send you all the links later ... now using my phone to send you this quick reply. We'll fix this!!

Cheers!

Sent from my Nexus One, Google Phone ... Android Rules! ;-)

[Cruising]

Okay Eyob!

In case you did not see it, here is the link to the AptOnCd
http://aptoncd.sourceforge.net/

It will tell you in detail all you need to know about it and how to
use it.

If you want to know how you can install it, you can use the following
code in terminal (Accessories > Terminal)

<code>sudo apt-get install aptoncd</code>

The offline installation should work just fine, once you have the
package installed.

For example, after a new installation of Ubuntu, you can install
AptOnCd first and after that, do all the necessary plug-ins and other
necessities (for music, etc). Then you can open AptOnCd (System >
Administration) and it will let you choose either to CREATE or
RESTORE. To create a new image, please select CREATE. After that you
will see the installed packages that can be packaged into AptOnCd. You
can choose all (better that way) and click on BURN. Depending on the
size of the packages, you can choose either the CD or DVD option and
the destination of the image and click on APPLY. It will do the ISO
and ask you if you want to burn the image on to a cd/dvd immediately.
You can choose YES, if you want to, or just click NO and exit the
program by closing the window after that.

The offline installation on a different pc will be automatically
detected once you insert the cd with AptOnCd packages in it. Then
Synaptic will do it for you after you confirm you want to install the
packages.

Cheers!

Do let us know if you need further assistance, but you should be
okay :)

On Mar 28, 1:42 pm, Dawit Habtamu <dawit.habt...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hey Eyob!
>
> Good to hear from you. I will send you all the links later ... now using my
> phone to send you this quick reply. We'll fix this!!
>
> Cheers!
>
> Sent from my Nexus One, Google Phone ... Android Rules! ;-)

> On Mar 28, 2011 1:40 PM, "eyob fitwi" <eyob.fi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Hey Dave,
>
> > I tried to look for APTonCD but it seems the website sourceforge doesn't
> > have any files in connection with it. What am I missing? Also, I'm still
> > stuck on the offline software installation. Any new ideas?
>

> > On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 5:35 PM, Dawit Habtamu <dawit.habt...@gmail.com

> >wrote:
>
> >> Euro apt-get install aptoncd
>
> >> & enjoy life!! I used to have that problem too until the aptoncd MAGIC!!
> >> You can even put all your packages into one or multiple images (ISO) &
> burn
> >> them ... really cool
> >> ...
>
> >> Please let us know if this helps ... :) ... cheers
>
> >> Sent from my Nexus One, Google Phone ... Android Rules! ;-)

> >> On Feb 7, 2011 6:53 PM, "tegegne tefera" <tefera.tege...@gmail.com>

> wrote:
> >> > some more helpful tips
> >> >https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallingSoftware
>
> >> > Especially the offline instalation part
>

> >> > On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 16:29, tegegne tefera <tefera.tege...@gmail.com

> >> >wrote:
>
> >> >> apt-offline seems a great tool. I have not used it my self so let us
> >> know
> >> >> your experiance. There is also a GUI to it but it seems it is not yet
> >> >> stable. So if I were you I would use the command line. It is only few
> >> >> commands.
>

> >> >> On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 16:10, tegegne tefera <tefera.tege...@gmail.com

> >> >wrote:
>
> >> >>> eyob
> >> >>> See if this two links answer your question.
>

> http://www.debian-administration.org/article/648/Offline_Package_Mana...
>
> >> >>>http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=342865

[eyob fitwi]

Of course I see it (the Download, Get the latest and a few other links). I found the website pretty much easily. The links lead you to a webpage where the alleged files can be downloaded from. But check it for yourself. The webpage says 'This project has no files'. I don't know what I'm missing here.

[tegegne tefera]

Eyob
I have not tried to download but Why do you need to do it? you can use synaptic to pull down and install it. obviously you need Internet connection to do that. The whole point is to use aptoncd on a computer that has Internet connection to transfer packages to computer that does not have one. So if you fallow the instruction by cruising it should work.
There is a slight problem though that you have to burn the iso to a dvd or cd every time you build a new update to use it in synaptic directly. You can eliminate burning dvd or cd though mounting an iso image requires a couple of more steps on the terminal.

[Achamyeleh Mesfin]

checkout Alternative mirrors 

https://code.google.com/p/ubuntu-related/downloads/detail?name=aptoncd_0.1-1_all.deb&can=2&q=

http://www.filewatcher.com/m/aptoncd_0.1-1_all.deb.183260.0.0.html

http://dir.filewatcher.com/d/Debian/all/admin/aptoncd_0.1-1_all.deb.183260.html

Regards, 

[tegegne tefera]

Just to add one point. Aptoncd is not an independent program that you can use anywhere. At least not yet according to http://aptoncd.sourceforge.net/doc-faq.html . You need an ubuntu  or derivative installation. I have used it on mint and it works. It should also work on debian.

On Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 10:04, eyob fitwi <eyob....@gmail.com> wrote:

[eyob fitwi]

Hey guys, whazzup!

I know we've been through this before, but now I've really gotto bother you again, because not being able to download software offline on my ubuntu is really started to get frustrating. I really want to make something out of ubuntu instead of having to use windows. I'd really appreciate any advice you guys can give me. Otherwise there's an ugly truth that we're going to have to face - Ubuntu is a dream for online users, but a nightmare for offline users.

Also, I'd really appreciate it if you can indicate me what packages will help in utilizing Amharic input. This is really a obstacle for me.

[Teferra]

Hi Eyob
Do you have access to a computer that is connected to internet? It
does not have to be ubuntu or linux for that mater. If you do not have
access to internet at all it is a very big inconviniance. Then one has
to be be content with the original cd. But if you have an internet
access any where then your best bet is apt-offline as it is explained
above. Here are some links again.

http://www.debian-administration.org/article/Offline_Package_Management_for_APT
http://batmat.net/apt-offline/index.html

If you have adminstratinve access to another ubuntu machine with
internet then aptoncd is also avaolable. I have tried it and it is
realy simple. You install the packages on the other machine and fireup
aptoncd and ceate an iso file that contains all the packages you ahve
installed. You can include packages that are not installed but it is
much more easier to install them and creat the iso. You can take that
iso and add it to the offline machie repository and voila.

As for amharic. we have discussed this before too. Just go back and
see the posts made.

To enjoy the freedom of linux one has to sacrifice some brain cells by
reading:-). Brain cells are replaced with interest. You get back
double the ammount you sacrifice. Of cource windows does not like
brain. It want's ጨግዋራ (cheguara). Every now and then when i need to
boot windows my alcer also boots and i can not wait to leave it. So
you are right to want linux but remember the linux gods need their
sacrifice and if you fail they are not forginving and wait till
another demon virus takes over the computer. They strike the computer
down themselves.:-). How do you like my humor?... Don't answer
that.... I know!!! I have been told it is testless. I blame the years
i spent on windows.

On Apr 29, 2:09 pm, eyob fitwi <eyob.fi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hey guys, whazzup!
>
> I know we've been through this before, but now I've really gotto bother you
> again, because not being able to download software offline on my ubuntu is
> really started to get frustrating. I really want to make something out of
> ubuntu instead of having to use windows. I'd really appreciate any advice
> you guys can give me. Otherwise there's an ugly truth that we're going to
> have to face - Ubuntu is a dream for online users, but a nightmare for
> offline users.
>
> Also, I'd really appreciate it if you can indicate me what packages will
> help in utilizing Amharic input. This is really a obstacle for me.
>

> On Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 6:51 AM, Dawit Habtamu <dawit.habt...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Hey Aleka!
>
> > The dream is common: to Linuxize Ethiopia! ! The mission is accomplished by
> > taking the baby steps: ISO images :) ... radio is awesome & will help us
> > advertise it better ... no podcasts so far ... maybe in the future ...
>
> > Selama selama! (Kiswahili influence, what can I say ... I'm on Nairobi! !)
> > Lol
>
> > Sent from my Nexus One, Google Phone ... Android Rules! ;-)

> > On Mar 15, 2011 11:00 AM, "tegegne tefera" <tefera.tege...@gmail.com>

> > wrote:
> > > Dawit
> > > I should be upset for taking my idea and running away with it:-). That is
> > > great. You should give it to every internet cafe to have a little bit
> > > of competition. Have you advised them to install it on some of the
> > computers
> > > as well? I hope it will it will catch up fast.
> > > By the way is there any where i can find the radio programs you have
> > > broadcast previously, like pod cast?
> > > By the way podcasting is a great way of transmitting educational info in
> > > Ethiopia. I have seen the mobile telephones people use in addis (if not
> > > all) are capable of transmitting content over Bluetooth. so people can
> > share
> > > short infos in audio form.
>
> > > cheers
> > > tegegne
>

> > > On Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 08:32, Dawit Habtamu <dawit.habt...@gmail.com

> > >wrote:
>
> > >> Yes, our dear "Aleka" you are a little too late in the discussion :) ...
> > >> BUT, I have finally given my ISO images of ubuntu to a Software
> > distributing
> > >> center in Addis (around hayahulet mazoria) and anyone can go and get it
> > for
> > >> a *small fee* ... wish I could make it free, but the guys pay rent and
> > stuff
> > >> ... so it's just their fee (nothing for me ... lol) Open source should
> > be
> > >> free!!!
>
> > >> I'm in Nairobi now and will be back in three weeks ... I will go on air
> > at
> > >> Afro FM 105.3 after I get back home. I hope to give the guy at hayahulet
> > >> mazoria more iso images and advertise our location on the radio better.
>
> > >> Yes, Ikub could work ... But I keep feeling like there has to be a
> > better
> > >> alternative ... I'm sure we can come up with something like that!
>
> > >> Cheers for now!
>

> > >> On Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 10:15 AM, Teferra <tefera.tege...@gmail.com

> ...
>
> read more »

[eyob fitwi]

Seems that apt-offline is the next option to try. I'll get back to you
after trying it.

But the lack of Amharic input is something of a serious setback. Text
editor may have full Amharic input but it's too inconvenient to use.
Imagine copy-pasting text constantly to openoffice, scribus, gimp, etc
(I intend on practicing designing, graphics & stuff). How will I use
OmegaT for translating documents, which I found practically impossible
& hence hampered me from using Ubuntu for translation purposes. This
is just simply a serious flaw, albeit minor one (from a global point
of view). We should participate on the relevant open-source channels,
if we can actually do something about it :-) .

BTW, I don't get why ppl keep thinking there are no good quality linux
alternatives for professional Windows software. That is a mostly
solved issue. I almost never have a problem finding open-source
options; in fact I sometimes find better ones. I even use open-source
applications on my Windows partition whenever I can.

[Teferra]

Hi Eyob

http://groups.google.com/group/linux-ethiopia/browse_thread/thread/d2ab3777eba94e29
.

use aptoffline or download just the m17 package for ibus. If you are
downloding it just remember that it is for your version of ubuntu.
Usually downloading it is not advised since you will get in to
dependency problem. So you have to make your መቀነት ጠበቅ and master apt-
offline.:-)

On Apr 30, 6:14 pm, eyob fitwi <eyob.fi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Seems that apt-offline is the next option to try. I'll get back to you
> after trying it.
>
> But the lack of Amharic input is something of a serious setback. Text
> editor may have full Amharic input but it's too inconvenient to use.
> Imagine copy-pasting text constantly to openoffice, scribus, gimp, etc
> (I intend on practicing designing, graphics & stuff). How will I use
> OmegaT for translating documents, which I found practically impossible
> & hence hampered me from using Ubuntu for translation purposes. This
> is just simply a serious flaw, albeit minor one (from a global point
> of view). We should participate on the relevant open-source channels,
> if we can actually do something about it :-) .
>
> BTW, I don't get why ppl keep thinking there are no good quality linux
> alternatives for professional Windows software. That is a mostly
> solved issue. I almost never have a problem finding open-source
> options; in fact I sometimes find better ones. I even use open-source
> applications on my Windows partition whenever I can.
>

> On 4/29/11, Teferra <tefera.tege...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Hi Eyob
> > Do you have access to a computer that is connected to internet? It
> > does not have to be ubuntu or linux for that mater. If you do not have
> > access to internet at all it is a very big inconviniance. Then one has
> > to be be content with the original cd. But if you have an internet
> > access any where then your best bet is apt-offline as it is explained
> > above. Here are some links again.
>

> >http://www.debian-administration.org/article/Offline_Package_Manageme...

> ...
>
> read more »

[eyob fitwi]

Hey guys, let me bother you once more. I marked apt-offline from an ubuntu installation with an updated synaptic, which marked only a single package which I installed. However, it doesn't show up anywhere. What am I missing? Try guiding me with a step by step process starting from where to download the package.

[Dawit Habtamu]

Hey Eyob!

I'm formatting my laptop again :( ... but it could work to your advantage as I will be doing everything fresh. I will post my goings in the Linux tunnel here ...

Hang in there ...

Sent from my Nexus One, Google Phone ... Android Rules! ;-)

[eyob fitwi]

Hope it wasn't because of problems related to ubuntu.
If you can, update your Synaptic and generate a download script for apt-offline (Mark apt-offline or apt including its dependencies for installation and go File > Generate download script), and attach it to this google group or send it to my email. I'll take care of the rest. Or you can opt to forward your own ideas on what I should do.
So far I like using the generate download script from Synaptic because of its effectiveness and my workplace uses linux, which makes downloading all those packages easier. Problem is, I need to update Synaptic, which couldn't be done without an internet connection.
Anyway, good luck with the formatting.

[Dawit Habtamu]

Thanks man!

I will let you know of the progress made & hopefully it will solve issues on your side.

Cheers!

Sent from my Nexus One, Google Phone ... Android Rules! ;-)

[Teferra]

Great guys. Now that is cooperation. While you are at it can you also
try http://keryxproject.org/ If someone figurs out how to do offline
installs easily it could be a life saver for many without internet
connection. the much better solution would be for the universities and
institutions in Ethiopia to host a mirror site. A few mirrors here and
there would make life a lot easier instead of every one tryng to
download packages from Japan with the limited band width there is. The
cost also is prohibitive. The internet situation in Ethiopia is quite
sad. So we need to find alternative ways for people to get free and
opensource software. Unfortunately I am on a very slow connection
(which i will be for most of the time for the next few months) so I
could not test the tools above at the moment.

Keep up and cheers.

On May 4, 3:38 pm, Dawit Habtamu <dawit.habt...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks man!
>
> I will let you know of the progress made & hopefully it will solve issues on
> your side.
>
> Cheers!
>
> Sent from my Nexus One, Google Phone ... Android Rules! ;-)

> On May 4, 2011 5:31 PM, "eyob fitwi" <eyob.fi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Hope it wasn't because of problems related to ubuntu.
> > If you can, update your Synaptic and generate a download script for
> > apt-offline (Mark apt-offline or apt including its dependencies for
> > installation and go File > Generate download script), and attach it to
> this
> > google group or send it to my email. I'll take care of the rest. Or you
> can
> > opt to forward your own ideas on what I should do.
> > So far I like using the generate download script from Synaptic because of
> > its effectiveness and my workplace uses linux, which makes downloading all
> > those packages easier. Problem is, I need to update Synaptic, which
> couldn't
> > be done without an internet connection.
> > Anyway, good luck with the formatting.
>

> > On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 9:47 AM, Dawit Habtamu <dawit.habt...@gmail.com

> >wrote:
>
> >> Hey Eyob!
>
> >> I'm formatting my laptop again :( ... but it could work to your advantage
> >> as I will be doing everything fresh. I will post my goings in the Linux
> >> tunnel here ...
>
> >> Hang in there ...
>
> >> Sent from my Nexus One, Google Phone ... Android Rules! ;-)

> >> On May 4, 2011 12:19 PM, "eyob fitwi" <eyob.fi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> > Hey guys, let me bother you once more. I marked apt-offline from an
> >> ubuntu
> >> > installation with an updated synaptic, which marked only a single
> package
> >> > which I installed. However, it doesn't show up anywhere. What am I
> >> missing?
> >> > Try guiding me with a step by step process starting from where to
> >> download
> >> > the package.
>

> >> > On Sat, Apr 30, 2011 at 8:38 PM, Teferra <tefera.tege...@gmail.com>
> >> wrote:
>
> >> >> Hi Eyob
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/linux-ethiopia/browse_thread/thread/d2...

> ...
>
> read more »