Why oh why is linux so challenging

Well - I'm gutted, I tried to install "audacity" into the Linux pc (Ubuntu7.04). Should be straight forward enough I hear some of you say, just fetch the file of the net - unpack it and extract the files to - well desktop - and run make and install in Konsole. 2 hours of challenging time later . . . . . . . . .

No joy. So this morning after some research via google / linux - I gave it a final whirl, and if that wasn't going to work - I would have dumped the file and looked for alternatives.
So I'm typing in konsole and all of a sudden line after line of rm -delete - permission denied. uhu - not a good spot to be in - so I closed out of that.

20 seconds no more

W E L L

I dunno what I have done but it stripped out EVERYTHING - like - everything - as in really everything . . . . . . . .

all documents / music / picture files on hd - gone
all settings / passwords for xchat / pidgin/ firefox - etc gone
all applets on Panel (even the colour settings) - gone
all bookmarks / toolbars / download history - urm - everything inside FF - gone
all radio stations saved in Amarok - gone
hehehe all best scores in the various games - gone

So I am a bit pissed 'cause I have some work ahead of me that I don't really need - BUT (as they say in the commercials) wait there is more

Fear not - I have back-up of some things - so that should make things easier
So I look for my trusty usb memory stick - urm - yeah I did work on a file a few minutes before then and it was still attached to PC - A N D
you guessed it, it completely stripped the usb stick of all files - even the lock/key files!!
Now I am really bummed - and very fragile.

So much for Linux
:)

worst part is - I still don't know why I could not install audacity.