Installing Sun Java on Ubuntu Lucid

As of Ubuntu Lucid, the Sun Java JRE has been replaced with OpenJDK. Unfortunately, OpenJDK still isn’t a complete drop-in replacement for Sun Java. For instance, the Facebook “Upload Photos” applet doesn’t work correctly; the photos don’t have thumbnails and can’t be rotated before upload. The solution is to install the Sun Java JRE.

1. Add the Canonical partner repository.
   sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.canonical.com/ lucid partner"
2. Install Sun Java JRE.
   sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-fonts sun-java6-plugin
3. Update system defaults to prefer Sun Java over OpenJDK.
   sudo update-alternatives --set java /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun/jre/bin/java
sudo update-alternatives --set javaws /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun/jre/bin/javaws
sudo update-alternatives --set mozilla-javaplugin.so /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun/jre/lib/*/libnpjp2.so
4. If that fails, manually choose them from a list. Always choose the option containing “java-6-sun”.
   sudo update-alternatives --config java
sudo update-alternatives --config javaws
sudo update-alternatives --config mozilla-javaplugin.so
5. Restart Firefox.

Oh, happy coffee-cup-clock progress bar, how I missed you!