First, it would be helpful to learn the way that file permissions work on Unix systems. It's usually not a good idea to be logged on as root (administrator), so "sudo" is your friend. Second, the copy command is "cp source_file target_file". So typically that would be "sudo cp source_file target_file" and then authenticate as root. To move a file, the command is "mv source target". I hope this information is helpful.
These commands are standard on any Unix system, so it doesn't matter whether you are using Linux, Solaris, Free BSD, HP-UX, Mac OS X, or any other version of Unix. It all works the same.
This is the problem. The average user has absolutely no desire to have to know this. It's like expecting people to know how to rewire their house to change a lightbulb, when all they want is to see the hallway. It's great for wireheads who want home brew, home built, tweaked hardware, and ultra-customized systems. But, most people just want to balance the checkbook and surf the net.