I just got my Arduino today and set up was pretty easy. My box is running Ubuntu Feisty.
- Download
arudino-0009.tgzand extract it. - Install
avrdude,avr-libc,binutils-avr,gcc-avr, anduisp. - Execute
arduino-0009/arduino.
Java was already set up in my case and I’m pretty sure not all of those avr related packages are necessary. But, it worked for me :)
Update: I just discovered the Arduino Playground which has some nice articles on how to set up your Arduino on different platforms.