coming back to ubuntu after a decade or so, everything seems slow and only semi-functional. getting this error when updating.
I have tried looking for someone with the same problem, to no success. if a thread exists please let me know!
excited to get into this system again and learn.
my goal is to run wine and/or dual boot so i can play some EVERQUEST again. 
The forum is not letting me post the full code, its telling me i can only have 2 links in my post. any way around that?
Welcome to the forum.
The limit of 2 links by new users is a built in feature to prevent spammers.
Are you just able to copy and paste the terminal output with the error here?
E: The repository 'http://ppa.launchpad.net/gezakovacs/ppa/ubuntu disco Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
E: The repository 'http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-wine/ppa/ubuntu disco Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
W: GPG error: https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu disco InRelease: The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY 76F1A20FF987672F
E: The repository 'https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu disco InRelease' is not signed.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
lol. sorry, its hard to post it in a clear fashion. i dont really know what part is most valuable for you to see. can i send it to you in a message?
Thanks. What version of Ubuntu MATE are you running?
Please post it here. The more info the better. If I am unable to assist, the information will help others provide further assistance.
ahhhh didnt even realize that was a thing. i appreciate you taking time with me as such a newb. I am running Ubuntu 19.04.
for my purpose (just want to use ubuntu for browsing/work and run windows/wine for games) would it be worth while to switch over?
I highly recommend Ubuntu MATE for any use, however I'm not a big gamer but lot's of people run games on Ubuntu MATE.
A few things. The first PPA gezakovacs,.I looked and do not see that it has been updated for the 19.04 Disco release. What software were you looking to run via that PPA?
You can remove that PPA with this command sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:gezakovacs/name substitute name with the name of the proper PPA
The Wine issue is two fold. The way to add Wine has changed and the PPA you used has been deprecated. Let's remove it by running: sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa
The commands are here to install Wine in 19.04: https://wiki.winehq.org/Ubuntu
If your system is 64 bit, enable 32 bit architecture (if you haven't already):
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
Download and add the repository key:
wget -nc https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key
sudo apt-key add winehq.key
sudo apt-add-repository 'deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ disco main'
sudo apt update
Then install the version you want : for example stable
sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-stable
Also there is no need to apologize for the questions or for being a "newb"
I ended up finding a nice write up on all the differences between all the different ubuntu flavors. I decided on MATE. I downloaded it but will need a new usb drive, as i keep bricking mine with this windows bootloader 
Thank you for your kind assistance! I will be back when I get the new drive and get MATE loaded up.
I am afraid that you have used severely outdated links. Say, https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-wine/+archive/ubuntu/ppa reads that this repository is deprecated.
To install the latest wine build please follow instructions on page
https://wiki.winehq.org/Ubuntu
An afterthought: why not to install wine from standard Ubuntu repository like sudo apt install wine?
Yes, it is there: https://packages.ubuntu.com/search?keywords=wine
i got the initial error while following the guide shown in wiki.winehq.org/ubuntu for ubuntu 19.04.
I followed your advice and entered "sudo apt install wine", it seemed to work and install. but now i am unsure of how to open or even see that it is an application that is installed.
on another note, i am trying to switch to MATE but i have had to resort to using an sd card adapted with a kodak usb card reader. I think that is what is giving me the issue in reformatting/starting fresh with MATE. its very finnicky one min the drive is recognized, one min it isn't.
thanks a bunch, i had to do a little reading on what PPA is. I thought i had figured it out and entered amd64.
k@k-OptiPlex-960:~$ add-apt-repository --remove ppa:gezakovacs/amd64
Error: must run as root
You are correct: there is no 'wine' in the UM Application menu as it used to be some time ago...
Open your terminal, type 'wine' (without quotes) and press tab key twice to see all programs which names start with 'wine'.
Generally, now you can double click windows program (.exe) file to have it launched by wine automagically.
Or you can right click on windows program and see "Open with wine program loader" proposition in the context menu.