I am absolutely new to Linux ans Ubuntu. I am switching to Linux because I really want to use all the features in Emacs, Win version has many non-working features. However, I cannot figure out how to install the newest Emacs release into a single directory such as $Home/Emacs so that I can access the init, the .el files, etc. directly. I like everything in one place. Is this possible in Ubuntu? I have tried several installation instructions but it does not create a single directory nor does it give me a quick launch icon I can use. Any help appreciated!
The best option is to install emacs from the package manager. It might not be the very latest one, but it will be close (in 16.10 it is version 24.5). If you open the terminal and then run the following command emacs will be installed
sudo apt install emacs
All of the init files will be in ~/.emacs, ~/.emacs.el, or ~/.emacs.d/init.el (where ~/ stands for the home directory i.e. $HOME/)
https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/InitFile
This is the standard way to install programs on linux. Configuration files for a lot of programs are stored in ~/. You will have the best experience if you install emacs, and any other programs you want that are available via this method, using the package manager apt.
