hackob@exval:~/temp$ ll
total 1004
-rw-r--r-- 1 hackob hackob 1023812 2007-06-21 00:29 superkaramba-0.37.tar.gz
hackob@exval:~/temp$ sudo alien superkaramba-0.37.tar.gz 
superkaramba_0.37-2_all.deb generated
hackob@exval:~/temp$ ll
total 2012
-rw-r--r-- 1 root   root   1024812 2007-06-21 00:29 superkaramba_0.37-2_all.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 hackob hackob 1023812 2007-06-21 00:29 superkaramba-0.37.tar.gz
hackob@exval:~/temp$