Other Help Topics :: tar files............
what are tar files and how do i install them onto my linux machine? Becuase I really want linneighbor hood...... 
Geez, nobody has answered this yet?
Tar files are compressed files, in gz or bz2. You uncompress them using commands or in Midnight Commander w/ the F2 key.
To install them you need the compiling tools, gcc, make, all the fun stuff.
Do a search for info, Google is your friend, Midnight Commander is an even better friend.
roadie
If you use emelFM, all you have to do is double-click on a tar file and it should automatically be extracted to some temporary location. You'll be able to access the files then.
original here.