I have just been born to Linux and very impressed. However after installing ubuntu 11.10 which works well generally, i can’t seem to play anything on Banshee or download anything from the Ubuntu site. Each time it asks me to install some plug ins then tells me they are illegal! sometimes it says i just can’t download despite trying with different wifi and landline connections
Any ideas?
Hi, and welcome to the forum 
Can you let us know what you are trying to do, and what the “exact” error message(s) are.
What are you trying to play on banshee ? … have you considered VLC instead of Banshee ?
If you are having problems with Flash video, and MP3’s, etc. … first install the Synaptic package manager, by hitting Ctrl+Alt+T to oen a terminal, then running:
sudo apt-get install synaptic
Once you’ve dne that, follow the instructions in this posting to add support for MP3, Flash, etc. :-
http://linuxforums.org.uk/index.php?topic=5752.msg38852#msg38852
Thanks for reply
I am trying to play music from mp3 on banshee. can’t download VLC it won’t let me yet. The exact messages happen when i am online and since i am using a dongle for internet will have to swap over and let you know later. To follow the instructions do i need to be online?
YES … you need to be online to install anything from the software repositories, as it has to download them from there first 
The reason it won’t play MP3’s is that you need to install support for MP3’s by installing the ubuntu-restricted-extras package (instructions in the link I gave you)… which will pull in support for MP3, Flash, Java, Encrypted DVD’s, etc. … MP3 support can’t be installed as part of the default installation because it is a proprietary format, so including support would mean Ubuntu had to pay a license fee … and considering Ubuntu is free, they aren’t going to do that … but they do make instalation of the codec very easy (it was even offered as an option when you installed 11.10), but you need to be online to do it.
Even Microsoft have to pay a license fee for MP3, but they recover that from you when you buy Windows.
Linux Mint have historically included support for the above as part of the default install … They probably think they are small enough to fly under the radar … but as Mint has now grown into one of the MAJOR Linux distributions, I wouldn’t expect that to last
Adding the support is easy (and free), but they can’t legally include it by default without paying … so they make it a “choice”, then it’s up to you
It’s definitely worth pursuing VLC as it is far superior to Banshee - at least for me.
VLC is superior to EVERY MEDIA PLAYER.
Here’s why: