I would avoid using it myself because the free version installs
smart-shopper grey-ware and advertising by default. And I hold a
download on it servers before downloading.

I use bit torrent also it is just that an ebook group I am in uses Pando and
I wanted to make it work in Ubuntu 10.10

Pando isn't going to work unfortunately so unless you can persuade
your group to also send via other means you'll be needing a Windows
installation using Virtual Box ( or other similar software ) to be
able to access this service. At least you'll not have to re-boot, as
the Windows installation is run as a program within Ubuntu and you can
even copy / paste between them.

I have not been able to copy and paste between virtual box windows and
ubuntu

To copy and paste between VBox and Ubuntu, I think you may need to
have seemless mode enabled. Also, this only works for copy-n-pasting
text, not entire files. It is fairly simple to set up a shared
directory between Ubuntu and Windows on a VM, though. There are
several tutorials available on the net... You can also just use a
removable flash drive to transfer files between the two, as long as
you installed the OEM version from Oracle, and not the version of
Virtual Box that is in the repositories.

To use copy/paste between Ubuntu and Windows in VBox look at the
settings for your Windows installation under [ General / Advanced ] to
find the Shared Clipboard. Set to 'bidirectional' and you'll be able
to copy paste just fine.

that includes anything - files / folders etc...

Yes I checked, and it is under settings -> bidirectional.
Sorry for misremembering, it was a long while ago I set it up. But I
am sad to say copying files across does not work for me. Maybe
because I am still running an older version (3.2.4), or maybe I just
have something messed up on my install. A quick Google search shows
there are a lot of people having issues with the shared clipboard. So
maybe I am one of those. I just always assumed it was the default
behavior.

Just downloaded and tried to install Pando under Wine. It gave an error
message and the install wouldn't finish. It didn't surprise me as it is a
Windows programme.

I have Wine on my system but as of yet have tried to use it. I will try it
out.

How do you install a program using wine?

There is a beta of Pando for linux that you can install from source.
Looks like you can get it from the pando forums (you have to register)
or here:
http://pando.en.malavida.com/linux/
According to the license, looks like it comes with adware. I
personally would install no such thing.

How do I install a tar.bz2 file?

Instructions are in the download, extract the contents and read the
'Readme' file in pandodl-21684 folder. It's all manual, not as easy as
a .deb file but not too onerous as step by step instructions are there.

Okay I followed instructions and got the following:

william@ubuntu:~$ cd Desktop
william@ubuntu:~/Desktop$ tar xvfj pandodl-0.9.2.0.tar.bz2
./
./pandodl-21684/
./pandodl-21684/bin/
./pandodl-21684/bin/pandoDownloader
./pandodl-21684/lib/
./pandodl-21684/lib/libfreebl3.so
./pandodl-21684/lib/libnspr4.so
./pandodl-21684/lib/libnss3.so
./pandodl-21684/lib/libnssckbi.so
./pandodl-21684/lib/libplc4.so
./pandodl-21684/lib/libplds4.so
./pandodl-21684/lib/libsmime3.so
./pandodl-21684/lib/libsoftokn3.so
./pandodl-21684/lib/libssl3.so
./pandodl-21684/lib/libwx_gtk2_aui-2.8.so.0
./pandodl-21684/lib/libwx_gtk2_xrc-2.8.so.0
./pandodl-21684/lib/libwx_gtk2_qa-2.8.so.0
./pandodl-21684/lib/libwx_gtk2_html-2.8.so.0
./pandodl-21684/lib/libwx_gtk2_adv-2.8.so.0
./pandodl-21684/lib/libwx_gtk2_core-2.8.so.0
./pandodl-21684/lib/libwx_base_xml-2.8.so.0
./pandodl-21684/lib/libwx_base_net-2.8.so.0
./pandodl-21684/lib/libwx_base-2.8.so.0
./pandodl-21684/pandodl
./pandodl-21684/pando_icon48.png
./pandodl-21684/README
./pandodl-21684/LICENSE
./pandodl-21684/COPYING
./pandodl
william@ubuntu:~/Desktop$ export PANDO_HOME=/PATH/TO/PANDODL_DIR
william@ubuntu:~/Desktop$ $PANDO_HOME/pandodl
bash: /PATH/TO/PANDODL_DIR/pandodl: No such file or directory
william@ubuntu:~/Desktop$


Here are the directions:

See http://www.pando.com/link/what for more details.

- This package includes third party software, listed below with location
where
source for this software may be found is listed below.
WxWidgets 2.8 - http://www.wxwidgets.org/downloads/
NSS 3.11.2 -
ftp.mozilla.org/.../

the part: "export PANDO_HOME=/PATH/TO/PANDODL_DIR" doesn't look right.
Do you have that directory? If so, you may just need to omit the "$"
on the comand to launch... I'm just guessing here while you wait for
more informed opinions. I'm not familar with the export and $ for
launching a program.

But what I think they wanted you to do was make/specify the path that
you are installing pando to. They did not specify because they were
giving you two options, a local install (under /home or
/usr/local/bin). If I understand their instructions right you would
for a local install:

1) copy the tar.bz into your home directory
2) open a terminal and type "CD /home"
3) type "tar xvfj pandodl-0.9.2.0.tar.bz2"
4) type "ls" to make sure there is a directory called PANDODL_DIR
5) If directory is not present, type "mkdir PANDODL_DIR"
6) type "export PANDO_HOME=/home/PANDODL_DIR"
7) TYPE "$PANDO_HOME/pandodl" to launch from any directory in a terminal

or, if that doesn't work, after "6)" type:

"cd PANDODL_DIR"
then
./pandodl

Does that sound about right to anyone else? Guess it doesn't hurt to
give it a try...

Those instructions I provided definitely had a blonde moment. On #5,
there is no need to make a pandodl_dir. that would have to already
exist and contain the pandodl executable. If not, you would have to
find where the pandodl file got unpacked to...

I'm going to go and stick my head in the sand now.

You don't need to make any directories. When you untar the file, it will create
a folder called pandodl in the folder where you downloaded the tarball. When
the instructions say "export PANDO_HOME=/PATH/TO/PANDODL_DIR" what they are
doing is creating a variable called PANDO_HOME, which is called later in the
script as $PANDO_HOME and you are supposed to replace the /PATH/TO/PANDODL_DIR
with the path to the pandodl directory.

For example, I downloaded the tarball to /home/david/Downloads and unpacked it
there, creating the directory /home/david/Downloads/pandodl, so the command
becomes (for me only!)

export PANDO_HOME=/home/david/Downloads/pandodl

If you have any spaces in the path (eg /home/david/Downloaded files/pandodl) you
must enclose the full path in quote marks.

OK, you've unpacked the tarball, no go to the pandodl-21684 folder
that's been created on your desktop and double click on the README
file in there - full instructions are in there to install the few
dependencies needed then install the actual program. It's all command
line work but the commands you need are all there to copy

I did the dependencies already.........

Are you still having problems with this? applying
corrections/explanations to my botched instructions you should be able
to get is going properly. If I understood right, it would be like the
following (let's say the name of your user account is will, but change
to your actual user name):

1) open /home/will in your file manager and copy the tar.bz you
downloaded into it
2) navigate to that directory in your terminal (cd /home/will)
3) run the unpack command described in the instructions. This should
create a folder called pandodl.
4) type "export PANDO_HOME=/home/will/pandodl"
5) then run the command to launch pando.

after doing that, do you still get error messages?

To install the tar.bz, you first need to extract the data in the
compressed file (right-click -> extract here)

then, if what they provide is the source code, you have to compile the
program. To do that you generally need only "build-essential"
installed (sudo apt-get install build-essential checkinstall)
--checkinstall is an extra build program that attempts to put the
compiled program in your package manager (synaptic) for uninstalling
later.

Then navigate to the directory you extracted to in your terminal and
run the following
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall

Depending on the source, the program will be in your menu after you
are done, or you may have to launch it from the terminal (or
alternatively create a shortcut on your desktop/menu). There is the
possibility that you will still not have a working program if you have
dependencies that are not met. you will get an error message, and
then have the option to install those dependencies with apt-get.
However, it is possible in doing that, that you will be changing
dependency versions that other programs rely on, thereby breaking
those programs. When I have dependency errors with something
installed this way, I generally just abort so I don't further risk
screwing something else up. By running "checkinstall" instead of
"makeinstall", you should be able to cleanly remove/unistall the
program from your package manager. Emphasis on "should".

See here for some additional advanced options and a more detailed explanation:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CompilingEasyHowTo

I think most people would not recommend compiling for newcomers to
Linux, just because it can cause unwanted problems. (I learned that
from this list! :-)) Then again, I started doing it around week 2-3 of
using Ubuntu (which was my first full install of Linux). That is part
of what I love about Linux, if you want to risk a mess to get
something you want, you have the right and ability to darn well do so!


If you are new to Ubuntu, I have found the below site particularly
useful, in addition to this list and the Ubuntu forums.
www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/installingsoftware

It may be necessary to mark the permissions as "executable" in the right
click properties. When that is done a double click should start the
installation (same as in that 'other' operating system). Alternatively one
can right click and choose Wine.

If this doesn't work make sure there is a Wine item listed on your start
menu and that you have installed the latest system updates. Or install Wine
from the repositories, using Synaptic or the Software Centre.