Maybe you have had this problem: you are using Debian or Ubuntu Linux and a software package you would like to install is only available in RPM format. The solution is the handy tool called alien, which converts .rpm files to .deb files. Install alien:
apt-get install alien
Converting an rpm package to Debian format:
alien --to-deb /tmp/mysoftwarefile.rpm
Conversions from .deb to rpm are also possible:
alien --to-rpm /tmp/mysoftwarefile.deb