Why netatalk won't install - and how to fix it

The netatalk package will fail to install for two common reasons.

1) netatalk will fail to install if you're not hooked up to a wired (ethernet) appletalk network.
Most non-apple routers handle appletalk connections only on the wired (not wireless) ports.

To solve this problem you can do either (not both) of the following:
a) Run an ethernet cable between your computer and your router, or
b) Create a fake (spoof) ethernet connection that will satisfy the netatalk installer script using the terminal command 'sudo ifconfig eth0 10.0.0.1 up'. Of couse, this command assumes that eth0 is you wired ethernet interface. It will ask for your password (and not echo the password to he screen), and it will only last during your current session - it's not a permanent change.

2) netatalk will fail to install if your /etc/hosts file is misconfigured. The netatalk installer fails when the long version of hostnames aren't used.
Some installs of Ubuntu set up your /etc/hosts file to look like this:
127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.1.1 my-machine-name

Actually, it should look more like this:
127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost
127.0.1.1 my-machine-name.localdomain my-machine-name