When it asks you to manually configure with command 'dpkg --configure
-a,' it really means you must type 'sudo' before the/ANY command! Go
to Applications>Accessories>Terminal, and type the command... BUT,
that pkg from Synaptic Pkg Mgr, is actually for developing, I think,
and unless you are developing, you don't need it installed... YOU DO
NEED 'dpkg' in Synaptics, however, which is required for your system
to run Ubuntu, and it will warn you that it will harm your system if
you try to remove it... what you don't need and can remove is
dpkg-dev, which is what the command to configure manually is about...
enlightenevolution