[Glastonbury] New to it

[maurice]

Two or three weeks into my Mandrake Linux Installation:

Success:
Firefox installed and working
Broadband internet connection established through Router/modem
Epson 1290 printer connected and working well
Skype downloaded and installed fine 

Most of the software installed with distro working fine:
 for example OpenOffice suit, Konquerer, Gimp, Kopete, KMail, CD Player etc

Some disappointments:
Java downloaded and works with Koquerer but not Firefox
RealPlayer downloaded but BBC will not connect (Konquerer looking for 
cook.50.60)
Rosegarden midi sequencer downloaded and installed runs well but will not 
create sound (jackd)
Kmid installed from distro CD. Looks good but doesn't seem to want to play.
Haven't yet successfully mounted the usb card reader so I can import the 
images from my digital cameras. Also Windows partition (used for file storage 
only) seems to be recognised but not yet mounted. Seems I don't have 
permission.

Well aware that I'm trying to get applications running without sufficient 
knowledge of Linux and the learning curve seems huge - little or no light on 
the horizon. Have to ask how much do I need to learn just to install 
applications successfully?

The help I've gratefully received here has moved me forward but often I'm just 
as confused.

Well aware that a lot of generous developers have made this all happen and 
there is absolutely no room for complaint

Guess I must re-inforce my belief that patience is a virtue:-) And come to the 
monthly meetings just to see what can be done. Inspiration required:-)