Not sure if this is really a Linux problem persay, but any way here goes. I downloaded a couple of applications on my Windows 2000 Pro workstation, that I burned onto a CD-RW for my customed built Linux box. I used Roxio CD Creator 5 to burn the apps onto the CD. The problem is after I burn the apps and try to copy them from the CD to /usr/local/src to compile them, the program names are in a short format like the old DOS names. For example one of the apps that I burned was iptables-1.2.10.tar.bz2, after I burn and copy from the CD to a Linux directory (that is on a separate box, not dual booting) the file name will look like iptable~.tar What is causing this? If I look at the CD file on my Windows machine after it has been burned it looks normal (i.e. iptables-1.2.10.tar.bz2)

Your burning software is causing it. Somewhere in the settings or preferences section there should be a setting to enable long filename support. This will fix most of your problem. It may not fix the problem with the filenames having more than one period in their names. If it doesn't fix that, than copy them to the hard drive on the Linux box and then rename them adding back in the periods on the hard drive of the Linux box.

what is the problem? why not tar jxvf 'iptable~.tar'