A better place to install Quartus might be /usr/local/altera/. The installer may suggest your home folder as the install location. If that happens, go into the subdirectory and run
That will decompress into a subdirectory, and then fail complaining about an ampersand. Because Ubuntu uses a weird default /bin/sh, you might need to invoke the script with bash instead, e.g.: Recent Quartus II Web Edition for Linux versions should install without too much trouble on Ubuntu. The Altera website will make you set up a user account, but you should be able to get Quartus II Web Edition for Linux without paying anyone anything.
Quartus II Programmer for Windows (For Programming the MCE) 2 Quartus II for Windows (For Synthesizing MCE Firmware).1 Quartus II Programmer for Windows (For Programming the MCE).