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Installing Software
Installing Software on Linux can take a variety of forms. At it's simplest it only a matter of selecting what it is you want from the distributions package management system. There are a variety of other methods that while straightforward can vary greatly.  Finally, there are those packages or software applications that can only be compiled from source.  The tutorial screencasts and explanations below should help you navigate these murky waters...
Gslapt Installations: 
VectorLinux  offers an ever growing repository of software that is freely available, quick to install and provides notification of available upgrades to installed software.  VectorLinux uses the Gslapt package management system for this and it's command line counterpart slapt-get.
Linux video tutorial: Gslapt basics and introduction to graphical package management.
Link: Look for Gaming applications installable via Gslapt on the Gaming Page.
Link: Look for Networking applications installable via Gslapt on the Networking Page.
Slackware Package Installations:
VectorLinux is based on Slackware.  As VectorLinux has progressed so has Slackware, so different versions of VectorLinux have been based on different versions of Slackware. All flavors of VectorLinux 6.0 are based on Slackware version 12.1. Why is this important, because you can install software that has been packaged for Slackware 12.1 on your VectorLinux system.  Check out the tutorials below to see where and how.   
Linux Video tutorial: Slacky, Slackfind, Linuxpackages and other sources of tgz files.
Installer and script Installations:
Some software applications have adopted different methods of making installation more in-line with what user have grown to expect after years of using Windows.  Autopackage which uses the .package extension is one such example.  Often executable scripts are used to do the installing for us, some common extensions for these scripts are .bin and .run.  Check out the tutorials below for more.
Linux Video tutorial: Celestia install example using the .package extension
Linux Video tutorial: Xara Xtreme. Install example using the .package extension.
Linux Video tutorial: SolarWolf Install example using the .run file extension.
Linux Video tutorial: Adobe Reader Install example using the .bin file extension.
Linux Video tutorial: Google Earth. Install example using the .bin file extension.
Running Java Applications.
This is a very simple thing, but I remember how it had me stumped when I was a new user of Linux. Even thought I had the jre (java runtime environment) installed, I didn't know how to start up a Java application. To prevent any new users to Linux from experiencing the same grief, here's a tutorial on that very thing.
Linux Video tutorial: How to run Java applications on your Linux box.
Linux Video tutorial: How to update your JRE (java runtime environment.)
.deb or .rpm Installations:
You may find some software providers that have made packages of there applications for Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint... (.deb extension) or Fedora, Redhat, Mandriva... (rpm extension), but have not made a package of their software for Slackware (.tgz extension).  Fear not.  As long as the .dep of .rpm package complies with the Standardized Linux File architecture, there is a way to install it on your Slackware based VectorLinux.
Linux Video tutorial: Google's Picasa. Install example using the .rpm extension.
Linux Video tutorial: Gizmo. Install example using the .deb extension.
Linux Video tutorial: Yuuguu. Install example using the .deb extension.
Static Build Installations.
To add to the diversity, there are several Linux software applications that just get downloaded and then run from a file from within the download.  Every thing needed to run the application is staticly linked and in the download.  These files can even be run from a usb drive.  Check out the examples below.
Linux video tutorials: Openarena's download from the official website.
Linux video tutorials: Flock's download from the official website.
Linux video tutorials: Skype static download from the official website.
Linux video tutorials: Limewire download from the official website
Building Software from Source.
Source code is the collection of files that make up a program written in a human readable programing language.  All open source software is available as source code or else it will not comply with the terms of the GPL.  Installing a package from source is usually just a matter of reading either the INSTALL file or README file and following the instructions there in.
Linux video tutorial: Building Grisbi from source (configure, make, make install).
Linux video tutorial: Building PDFedit from source (configure, make, make install)
Linux video tutorial: Building BillardGL from source (make, make install)
Some packages will require the build or installation of other software applications before hand.  These are refered to as dependencies.
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