Make the .bin file executable and run it.
It will install java for you.

Just out of curiosity, is it no longer possible to install java from the
sofware center (in the applications menu, I don't remember what it is
called) or synaptic? In older versions, I remember if you had selected "all
available applications" and searched for "java" you would get several
options, including Suns official package.


And to do that^^, I think you would right-click on the file, select
"Properties", click on the permissions tab, then check the box by "Execute"
(assuming 10.04 works the same as 9.1), then "close"

Also, I *think* you would be able to do the following in your teminal to
get the same effect:
--
cd /directory/of/downloaded/.bin
chmod +x newfile.bin
newfile.bin
--
where "newfile.bin" is the name of the file you want to install with. I've
never actually installed a .bin file, so I can't really comment on the error
you are getting...

I hate the Software Centre so always use Synaptic (System, Administration)
or aptitude. The Software Centre works only in GNOME and I use KDE, GNOME
and other desktop environments. Synaptic is universal for all Debian
distributions and Software Centre is an invention of Canonical for people
who don't know any better. :) Also Software Centre shows only applications
and not libraries.

I'm with you on disliking the software center. The only problem I ever have
with synaptic is it can be confusing to decide what to install when there
are so many options. For V9.04 of Ubuntu (on a VM which is all I have
access to at the moment) typing java into the synaptic search brings up a
slew of packages. It looks like the "sun-java6-bin" is the one to go with.
Selecting this package will also auto-select the plugin package needed for
browser support. Not sure if there is a more recent version in 10.04, but
it should be in the format of "sun-javaX-bin". OpenJDK runtime environment
seems to be another option that would work (maybe it is currently the
prefered option?). I've not had the need to test either as of yet...

You want jre. Just do a search for jre and it should give you several
choices from open jdk to sun.

Yes, you are right. Synaptic is more complicated, but that is good. You
can't have too much information if you want to learn. Just ask questions if
you don't understand. The advantage of Software Centre is that it
simplifies, but that is at the expense of knowledge and dumbing down users
eventually works against them.

Ah... yes, searching for "jre" (java runtime environment) narrows it down
primarily to only the relevant things.

I have no idea how it worked but the problem has been solved. Thanks to all
once again. This probably wont be the last post.

Not a good idea. Not sure where you got a "bin" file, but that's no
ubuntu package, and will probably screw up your system and you'll wonder
what you did wrong.

Delete the mystery file, go into ubuntu software center and install java.

Are you installing outside of the repositories? This is not advisable for
new users as you introduce dependency errors which would not exist otherwise
and troubleshooting can be a pain. Sun java is in the repositories and
installable with Synaptic.

Where did you download a bin file from? In any event, let's get back on
track. You can safely delete the bin file, then go into ubuntu software
center and install java.