Plugins are programs that let your browser handle content other than HTML and graphics, such as animations, streaming audio, Java applets, and more. Mozilla's plugins are stored under /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins and installing plugins require root privileges.
We'll look at the procedures to install Java, Flash and Real plugins. If you own a Mandrake Linux PowerPack, installation is greatly simplified and all the needed packages are on the CDs.
Install the jre RPM package. See Chapter 18, RpmDrake: Package Management for information on how to install RPM packages.
You can obtain the Java plugin on the Java web site. Follow the links to J2SE (Java 2, Standard Edition) and download JRE for Linux. Follow the directions in the README file included in the downloaded tarball (in this case, a compressed archive of files which ends with the .tar.gz extension) to complete the plugin installation.
Install the FlashPlayer RPM package (see Chapter 18, RpmDrake: Package Management for more information).
You can retrieve the Flash plugin on the Macromedia web site. Follow the link to Macromedia Flash Player and download the flash_linux.tar.gz file. Extract the tar.gz file to a temporary directory and copy the libflashplayer.so and ShockwaveFlash.class files to the /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/ directory to complete the plugin installation. Test the plugin by opening the Flash web site URL in the browser.
Install the RealPlayer RPM package (see Chapter 18, RpmDrake: Package Management for more information).
You can get the Real plugin on the Real.com site. At the moment of this writing, the latest Real player was not available for GNU/Linux, but old versions of the player (which can play most Real content) is available. Complete the form and select Linux 2.x (libc6 i386) RPM, then click on Download Community Supported Player and download the rpm file.
Follow the instructions on Real's web page to complete the installation. (refer to Chapter 18, RpmDrake: Package Management for more info).