gdebi is a simple to tool install local deb files. It will use apt to figure if the dependencies can be satified and what additonal software is required. It needs a vte and python-apt from ubuntu/dapper to work. vte needs a patch to make it not close file descriptors, python-apt needs some new features. It will need root to install the deb, and it has a non-root non-root bit to view the deb and a « non-interactive » bit that is exec()ed with gksudo.