[newbie] rpm for downloads

[Gordon Craig]

I have tried EVERYTHING but RPMDrake insists on loading only what it can
find on the distro cd's. How do I get it to install a download? I
downloaded RP8 (Real Player) but there is no way I can get RPM to work.
When I click on the file in Konqueror or Nautilus, the hourglass turns,
and turns, and turns. . .  until  it times itself out. When I call up
rpmdrake from the main menu, it refuses to accept anything but the stuff
on the disks. Please, can somebody tell me the obvious thing I must be
missing here?
-- 
Gordon Craig <gordon.craig@shaw.ca>