New in OS X: Get MacRumors Push Notifications on your Mac

Resubscribe Now Close

Oracle Officially Launches Java SE 7 for OS X

Tuesday August 14, 2012 12:39 pm PDT by Eric Slivka
Oracle today announced the release of several new Java software packages, including the new Java SE 7 Update 6 that brings full support for Java SE 7 to OS X for the first time. The release follows launch of Java development kits for OS X back in April.
- With this release, Oracle is providing full availability of Java SE 7 Update 6 on Mac OS X, including the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) and the Java Development Kit (JDK), as well as the JavaFX 2.2 rich client platform and JavaFX Scene Builder.

- Consumers will soon be able to download the JRE for Mac OS X from Java.com, just as they do for all other operating systems, and Oracle will provide auto-updates for Mac OS X at the same time as for Windows platforms.

Apple announced in October 2010 that it was discontinuing its support for Java, with Steve Jobs noting that having Apple responsible for updates generally resulted in Java for OS X being one version behind Java for other platforms. Jobs noted that that "may not be the best way to do it", and his belief was proven true earlier this year after the Flashback malware was able to infect 600,000 Macs by taking advantage of a Java vulnerability that had already been patched in most versions of Java but not yet addressed by Apple.

Apple has continued to maintain Java SE 6 while contributing resources to the OpenJDK project to help Oracle and other developers build and maintain Java SE 7 and future versions. Notably, Apple's latest update to Java SE 6 came in sync with Oracle's updates for other platforms, indicating that Apple is working closely with Oracle to make sure Mac users are protected with up-to-date versions of Java on their systems.

[ 154 comments ]


Top Rated Comments

(View all)

Avatar
gorskiegangsta
92 months ago

Virtually useless for any ordinary end-user, but welcome news anyway.


I'm guessing you don't play minecraft :D
Rating: 17 Votes
Avatar
bad03xtreme
92 months ago

I'm guessing you don't play minecraft :D


No, I enjoy the company of women... :p
Rating: 12 Votes
Avatar
faroZ06
92 months ago

It takes time to develop code. Apple wasn't number 1 on Oracle's list for implementing the JVM, or they didn't have enough Apple OS X developers.


Mac OS was low on the list? Did all of the cellphones and washing machines that have Java also stay at SE 6?

----------

No, I enjoy the company of women... :p


Actually, I think more girls play Minecraft than any other video game that boys would actually play.
Rating: 12 Votes
Avatar
ConCat
92 months ago

Is there a way to completely remove earlier Java versions once 7 gets installed or do they all just work together.


I've actually had this installed for quite awhile before this announcement. I'm not sure why they're announcing it now, but whatever. A screenshot of my current Java setup is attached. They work fine together. The version provided by Oracle is 64-bit only, and isn't 100% compatible with apps designed for the old Java provided by Apple, so it doesn't overwrite it.
Rating: 10 Votes
Avatar
canadianpj
92 months ago

Virtually useless for any ordinary end-user, but welcome news anyway.


Strange, BRLawyer is negative about something.

This is very good news for the "ordinary end-user" as this will, as the article states, continue to improve the speed of updates. If they result in needing to personally download or Apple just pipes these updates into Software Update this is VERY good news.
Rating: 10 Votes
Avatar
herr_neumann
92 months ago

No, I enjoy the company of women... :p


Says the guy posting on a computer forum....

;)
Rating: 7 Votes
Avatar
faroZ06
92 months ago
Well, when I try to install it:



Alter the package so it installs in 10.6.x anyway?
Rating: 6 Votes
Avatar
LxHunter
92 months ago
I am running OSX 10.8
Pardon the dumb questions.
I downloaded and installed the JRE 7 from the above site.
When I open the >Utilities>Java Preferences.app it only shows Java SE 6 installed.

Have I done something wrong?
Rating: 5 Votes
Avatar
keysofanxiety
92 months ago
Minecraft feels snappier. :rolleyes:
Rating: 5 Votes
Avatar
q64ceo
92 months ago
Java needs to die.

It is a horrible, horrible platform that is highly inefficient.
Rating: 5 Votes

[ Read All Comments ]