@antibiotnc: U need to have net connection to install the packages easily. Though u can install it if u have them in some cd or some cached repository. But u wont find any magz. that gives u all the libraries and packages that much as they give for windows.
Without net connection, u can do officework, learn linux, play some games, and do entertainment tasks but thats possible if u have installed the corresponding packages. So I think u shud get some net connection.
AS for installing multimedia, codecs etc is damn easy in fedora.
Check out
the post by some cool fedora user!
Even if u dont know the package name appropriately, then still u can install it!
e.g If u have a package say "xmame" to play rom games n u can't remember the name and u remember only "mame", then type "yum -y install *mame" and use the awesome wildcards.
So dont worry about mulimedia on linux, installing it is a piece of cake n one line solution in fedora as explained in that post!
As for ur add/remove prog. I think its not working becoz u dont have net connection!