No Internet. Can I benifit from the repositories?

[Buttons840]

A friend of mine doesn't have an Internet connection at his house. He's been trying Ubuntu (9.04), but wants to download some new programs for it.

In Windows, I could download a installation file, put it on a CD or USB stick and he could take it and install it at his house. Can a similar thing be done with Ubuntu?

Specifically, how can we obtain compiz (and a few other programs) and all their dependencies from the repositories and then install them on his computer, which doesn't have Internet access?

Thank you.

EDIT:

New question:
Our goal is to obtain a program and all it's dependencies. Like a Windows installer, we want to be able to go to any Linux (or at least any Ubuntu) machine and have everything we need to install the program without needing the Internet.

My friend is frustrated because everything is so Internet dependent. We go through a complex process to get a program installed on one computer using the Internet, and then we have to go through the same process again for the second computer, again depending on the Internet. Is it possible to just obtain the program and be able to install it on any computer and any configuration we encounter? If this is not possible in Ubuntu, then is there another Linux distro that is more Internet independent?

[cariboo]

Compiz is installed by default, for other packages go here (http://packages.ubuntu.com/).

[Partyboi2]

You could also use keryx (http://keryxproject.org/), which saves you having to manually download the dependencies.

[Buttons840]

Thank you. But my general question still remains.

How can I transfer something from the repositories onto a computer that cannot connect to the Internet? Is this possible?

[mcduck]

Thank you. But my general question still remains.

How can I transfer something from the repositories onto a computer that cannot connect to the Internet? Is this possible?

It was already answered by cariboo907.. ;)

Al the packages can be downloaded from http://packages.ubuntu.com. The real problem is solving dependencies, as the package manager won't be able to help you there without having Internet connection to get information about available packages.

[EXCiD3]

Keryx (http://keryxproject.org) does the same thing as going to http://packages.ubuntu.com only its MUCH easier. It's like using Synaptic on any machine but getting the files for the offline ones. You should check it out.

[apparle]

Your friend is lucky at least he knows someone who has a friend with ubuntu and net connection.
There are many options.
Run the command

tar -czf package.tgz /var/lib/apt/lists /var/cache/apt/pkgcache.bin /etc/apt/sources.list
then take the packages.tgz to the friends computer. Goto the directory where packages.tgz is located and

tar -C / -xzf package.tgz
you will have to repeat the above procedure whenever the repositories are updated

Now all the packges which you have installed are in the directory
/var/cache/apt/archives
Copy the direcoty to friends computer and then install from synaptic. That will be installed.

In case your friend wants to install something which not installed on your PC then goto this link
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=310020

[Buttons840]

The problem is we want to have the programs, not just install them. In Windows, you can obtain a program, put it on a CD, and use this same CD to install on any Windows computer you encounter.

We want to obtain program x (for example) and put it on a disk, then be able to take this disk and install program x on any Linux (or at least any Ubuntu) machine we encounter.

Let me put it another way. So far there have been several specific solutions offered, but we are looking for a comprehensive solution that will work for many computers, not just one specific computer and configuration.

I guess I should have been more clear in my OP.

Thanks again.

[Partyboi2]

Maybe aptoncd (http://aptoncd.sourceforge.net/) might be better suited for your needs.

[HyRax]

AptOnCD for a typical installed machine is a much better solution than downloading packages one by one. Take an Internet connected PC, install the relevant apps you want, then run AptOnCD to backup all the cached downloads including dependencies, then restore that cache to the non-connected PC and install away as though you were connected to the Internet.

Another solution is to take a complete mirror of the Ubuntu repositories so you can have them handy on a HDD to install whatever you want whenever you want, and the only thing you'll be missing is on-going updates (unless you bring the mirrored data back to an Internet connection to update it every so often). Your PC won't know the difference - it will think it's getting the files from the Internet anyway.

A complete mirror of Ubuntu Jaunty 9.04 for both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures is 33GB. Ongoing updates are worth about 1-3GB per week.

Obviously getting a complete mirror means that you are also going to copy a lot of data that you will probably never use, but the convenience of having a mirror cannot be understated.

[Buttons840]

A complete mirror huh? My friend would like that option.

However, I ain't downloading it on my connection, I have bandwidth caps. :(

So this AptOnCD, it include all needed dependencies?

[HyRax]

A complete mirror huh? My friend would like that option.

However, I ain't downloading it on my connection, I have bandwidth caps. :(

So this AptOnCD, it include all needed dependencies?

Yes, because it backs up the cache of the Internet-connected PC that you originally installed it on, ie: if you installed say CompizConfig-Settings-Manager, there are some Python-related dependencies required in order to make it run, so Synaptic goes and installs them. When you tun AptOnCD and backup that cache, it will backup not only the main CompizConfig-Settings-Manager package, but also the othe Python packages too because they're sitting there in the cache too.

The only time AptOnCD will not work properly is if the cache contains old packages that have since been replaced with NEW packages, or if the cache on that PC has been cleared recently, so when making an AptOnCD cache, do it with a freshly installed PC (a virtual machine is perfect for this).

Going back to the mirror, if you don't want to download 33GB or so because of download limits, consider sites like On-Disk (http://on-disk.com/product_info.php/cPath/28_257_174/products_id/644) who can sell you a copy (and mail it out to you) of a snapshot of the entire Ubuntu repository on about 4 dual-layer DVD's (for one architecture only, ie: 32-bit or 64-bit) for about USD$34. Ubuntu will then happily say "Please insert On-Disc Ubuntu Repository Disc Number 3" or something when you are installing software. I used to use these guys for awhile before I found some Internet access to generate my own mirror and I've been maintaining it ever since.

Alternatively again, see if someone near you who already has a full mirror is willing to Sneakernet you a copy if you mail them a hard-drive or a large USB flash memory stick and some cash to cover postage and their time. I've done this for several people in Australia before (but not internationally).