Installing Sun Java 6.0 on Ubuntu

Ubuntu is defaultly deployed with GNU libgcj JVM which doesn't work with some applications, for example Eclipse. Also in my experience GNU libgcj JVM is much slower than Sun JRE.
Installing Sun Java 6 JRE is simple. Just issue the following command from shell:
apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-bin sun-java6-plugin sun-java6-jdk
You will need to be root or use "sudo" to perform this operation. You can skip package sun-java6-jdk if you dont plan on doing development in Java.

Once these packages are installed you can use Alternatives to make sun java your default JVM. To do this issue following command from shell:
update-alternatives --config java
You will get a screen like following:

The * sign means that this JVM is default. Enter the number for Sun JRE which in my case is 3. Now you can check your java version using: java -version

Virtual CD software for Windows XP from Microsoft?

I needed to add an ISO image as virtual drive to my system and I was looking for some free software to do the job. During my search i found out that there is a software from MS, called WinXP Virtual CD control panel, to do the job but it is not listed at Microsoft Download Center. You can download it from here. It is very primitive software but gets the job done nicely.

Installation Instruction (from readme.txt)

1. Copy VCdRom.sys to your %systemroot%\system32\drivers folder.
2. Execute VCdControlTool.exe
3. Click "Driver control"
4. If the "Install Driver" button is available, click it. Navigate to the %systemroot%\system32\drivers folder, select VCdRom.sys, and click Open.
5. Click "Start"
6. Click OK
7. Click "Add Drive" to add a drive to the drive list. Ensure that the drive added is not a local drive. If it is, continue to click "Add Drive" until an unused drive letter is available.
8. Select an unused drive letter from the drive list and click "Mount".
9. Navigate to the image file, select it, and click "OK". UNC naming conventions should not be used, however mapped network drives should be OK.

I have used it with ISO images and it works very well. dont know if it works with other formats