In one of my earlier posts, I taught you how to install anything in Ubuntu. While I was browsing the Community Ubuntu Documentation on Games, I realized I’ve forgotten something.
Imagine if you were browsing a site explaining how to setup, say, a system that automatically downloads new episdodes of a show. Wouldn’t it be better and much simpler that instead of telling you “Step 1: Go to this website, Step 2: download the installer, Step 3: run it on your computer”, you’re just given a link that says “Step1: Click here to install Miro“? (Note: If you’re running Ubuntu, that link will really ask to install Miro. Try it)
For the majority of you who have been using Windows for most of your life, when you hear installing programs with a browser, one thing that pops into your minds is downloading a program off the ‘net and installing it after you’ve downloaded. Or choosing a plugin for Firefox (which isn’t exactly what I meant with this topic).
One advantage of having a package manager in an operating system like Ubuntu is this level of integration that it provides. And this is one serious example.
In order to be able to do this, you must be running Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) or later. If you are using an earlier version of Ubuntu, you will have to install AptURL and setup a compatible browser (see here for instructions).
When you have that up and running, you can create an AptURL link simply by using the URL
apt:packagename
OR
apt:packagename1,packagename2,…,packagenameX
And that’s it! When someone visits your site and you wanna tell them about this hot, new game or software you’re using, don’t just tell them what it is. Give them an AptURL install link.
For quite some time now, I have been watching on the sidelines as hordes of people get sucked in and hypnotically waste countless hours at this little game called Angry Birds.
Last time I checked, Internet Explorer was the leading browser in terms of market share, and despite its several problems when it comes to CSS and 
