Go On Linux

Can we morph into a HOWTO page? Is there already a HOWTO on this?

If you're running DebianGnuLinux, you can just AptGet cgoban, and you'll find cgoban in the menu, which includes nice help (only in english though, afaik).

The GameOfGo is screamingly popular, and simple to get started. So figure you want to download a simulated opponent and a GraphicalUserInterface Go board for the rugrat to learn. This would be the shopping list:

GnuGo - a text-only interface, and a text IO filter protocol (GTP: Go Text Protocol) so you can bond a UI onto it
2ptkgo.pl - a Perl what?
pggo - Python, and requires PyGame, which requires lots of libSDL (why??). Further, it thinks the file white.png should be in Windows BMP format...
cgoban 1 - a beautiful GUI which can run with a Go server (NNGS or IGS protocols), a local program such as GnuGo via the Go Modem Protocol, a local game between two humans, or in several other combinations; includes one of the best SGF editors. Runs under X; does not require Java, KDE, GTK, or any such thing.
cgoban 2 - a beautiful GUI which, unfortunately, is implemented in Java and only works with the server "KGS". Includes a port of the SGF editor from cgoban 1.
pGo - requires Java, which I've never been able to install.
- Have you checked the excellent Java GUI JaGO at http://www.rene-grothmann.de/jago/ ? it's cross-platform, works with GnuGo and it's pretty.
- There's also gGo at: http://panda-igs.joyjoy.net/java/gGo/
RubyGo - another beautiful GUI. It supports IGS and local games, can run GnuGo, includes an SGF editor. It requires Ruby, and run on any platform implementing Ruby.

[RefactorMe: I may have read only the wrong README files, but I just want GTP and a beautiful UI for it. I don't give a poop about playing over the 'net until I can get the rugrat above novice level.]

Go online and you'll find plenty of other beginners. Play against them and play a lot. That's the best way to learn. If you learn by playing a computer (especially a weak program like GnuGo), you will very likely learn bad habits which you might get away with against a computer but which will never work against a human opponent.
- That may be true - perhaps you could offer a HOWTO about starting playing on-line?

My current solution:

Install GnuGo.
Install libSDL*
Install PyGame
Download pggo-0.95.tar.gz
Run this command on every png file:
- convert images/board.png -compress none board.bmp
Copy the uncompressed *.bmp files onto the images/*.png files (the horror!)
Run this command
- python pggo -w human

The result: I'm Go-ing.