Am I using a 32 or 64 bit kernel?

When installing applications, packages, or anything else on a machine, it is important to find out what architecture it is using to obtain the best results and minimize the risk of potential conflicts inside the system. There are two architectures currently available, 32 and 64 bit. 64 bit is the current generation and is usually what modern computers are running.

To find out whether a Linux kernel is 32 or 64 bit, simply type the following command into the terminal (CTRL+ALT+T):

uname -m

If the kernel is 64 bit, the string returned should include the numbers 64. An example being x86_64.

Install JDK7 and JRE7

The newest versions of the JDK and JRE are no longer in the official repositories and require a manual installation to get them to work. This guide demonstrates the steps required in order to install the JDK and JRE, version 7, on an Ubuntu or Ubuntu based system.

This guide is not to be confused with OpenJDK, a 100% open-source implementation of the Java language. The JDK offered by Oracle has a few binaries which could not be released under an open-source license and is required for the development of many Java applications.