January 22nd, 2010, 10:14 AM

After spending some time I managed to install the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5th edition (LDOCE5) on Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) 64-bit and I want to share my experience.
On the cd there is a file LINUX_README.txt which says that if you want to launch the installer in graphical mode you have to install libgtk1.2. libgtk1.2 is not available in Karmic (see https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gtk+1.2/+bug/478219) and although there are ways to install it (e.g. http://www.rabbnix.com/vb/showthread.php?t=979), it is easier to install it from the console.
According to http://pearsonsupport.helpserve.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=115, LDOCE5 should work on Ubuntu 9.04+ on both architectures. However, when I tried to run linux/setup.sh, I got following error:
The setup program seems to have failed on amd64/glibc-2.1
Fatal error, no tech support email configured in this setup
After investigating the script setup.sh I noticed that it determines the architecture (amd64 or x86), and it uses that value to construct a path to the actual installer, e.g. linux/setup.data/bin/Linux/x86/setup. However, there is no linux/setup.data/bin/Linux/amd64/ directory.
UPDATE: I found an easier way to make the installer work than the one described on the next paragraph. Just run from the linux directory
linux32 ./setup.sh
Since I had nothing to lose, I though about executing the installer for the x86 version. So I copied the whole cd to the hard disk, and renamed ldoce5/linux/setup.data/bin/Linux/x86/ to ldoce5/linux/setup.data/bin/Linux/amd64/. Then I ran ldoce5/linux/setup.sh (after adding execute permission to setup.sh). A terminal-based installer launched with the message 'You are running an x86 machine with glibc-2.1', I pressed OK, then I agreed with the licence and chose the instalation directory. Then the installer did it's work.
I went to the directory where it installed the dictionary and with my fingers crossed I run ldoce5. To my surprise it worked!
Most things work fine: sounds, links, nice fonts. The only problem I found is that on the 'Teacher Resouces' section, the links to the pdfs do not work, however, they can be directly accessed in ldoce5/chrome/ldoce5/pdfs.
UPDATE 2:
.It also works on Ubuntu 10.04 and 10.10.
.You need the Adobe Flash Plugin, otherwise sound will not work. It's also recommended to have Pulse Audio.
.If you want to back it up, besides the installation directory backup the .font directory (optional), and the file ~/.macromedia/Flash_Player/#Security/FlashPlayerTrust/ldoce5.cfg, which only contains the path to the ldoce5 installation, for instance, /usr/share/ldoce5/. If you don't have this file you will be able to open the program but when you click on the main menu nothing will happen. You can create it yourself if you don't have it.
.This made me realize that to if you want to execute through wine a version that has been installed in Windows, all you need to do is add the executable to the allowed applications on wine's flash. The result is not the same, it flickers more, but you can save 2.5 GB of space.
UPDATE 3:
The Copy button at the top does not work, neither does Ctrl-c. To copy some text, select it and press Ctrl-Insert.