Installing TweetDeck on Ubuntu Linux

This one is for all the Twitts out there looking to use a dedicated Twitter client for viewing their subs/lists/trends etc. While there are several clients available and native for Ubuntu (though I am yet to try them), TweetDeck gives a great interface with easy personalization. It also has an inbuilt URL shortener and update notification which can be set to show in the top-right corner...although this can be annoying if you follow a lot of Twit-a-holics (The type I like :D)!

This HowTo will show how to install TweetDeck and the AdobeAir package (which TweetDeck depends on) for Ubuntu. This install was done on kernel version 3.0.0-13.


1) Open up terminal, and direct to a folder where you want to work. I went to my ~/Downloads folder. Then, acquire the AdobeAIRInstaller with wget - it will download to the current directory that you are in. Use ls if you want to check that it is there. Change the permissions so that it can be executed. Execute it - you should get an Adobe window popup and ask you whether you want to install. Follow the options and after about 5 clicks it should be done. Remove the installation file (or keep it). Code is below:

$ wget http://airdownload.adobe.com/air/lin/download/latest/AdobeAIRInstaller.bin
$ chmod +x ./AdobeAIRInstaller.bin
$ sudo ./AdobeAIRInstaller.bin
$ sudo rm -rf AdobeAIRInstaller.bin

If you don't know, AdobeAIR is some sort of installer program. It is used when you want to install certain programs (that run Adobe I suspect...).

Navigate to the TweetDeck website and hit Download. The AdobeAIR window should popup. Follow the prompts and change the installation directory if so desired. Done!

Hope this helped. If AdobeAIR is not installed, then clicking on the TweetDeck Download button will not work, not matter how long you wait.

Happy Tweeting!