Is it possible to run dbman on my local (linux) machine, so I can manipulate a local copy of the database as I would on a remote server? How would I set this up?

I think must linux installations come with a web server (apache?)... you should be able to copy the file to wherever your webserver directory is located. It may take some tweaking of the config file (folder names, etc).

There are detailed instructions for doing it on Windows (locally) but I don't know if anyone has done them for linux locally. This is provided that you have Perl installed on the machine as well.

Try typing something like "whereis perl" at the command prompt and see if Perl is installed. Do the same thing with Apache (?). My linux experience is only to boot the machine and shut it down (and startx, or is it xstart?).
I have to hack around a lot to accomplish anything.

Also check out LoisC's FAQ at "www.redundantcartridge.com/dbman" for more details on Q & A.

Yes you can do this. You would set it up in exactly the same way as you would on a remote server. The only difference is the server location. You need to install Apache and Perl and then just access dbman using 127.0.0.1 or localhost