Java for OSX Mountain Lion

Java for Mountain Lion is only available from Oracle, who since their purchase of Sun Microsystems is the owner of the Java technology. The update from Apple is for Mac OS X 10.6 other than the patch that disables the Java plugin from browsers in other versions of OS X.

Regards.

If it's still available, how do I re-install it?

Here: http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp

Yes, you misread it. The latest update is from Oracle.

Use the Java System Preference to check for updates:

The Apple update removes SE6, but notes that you'll have to go to Oracle to get SE7.

FWIW, Apple released new updates for Java, which updates the Apple-provided system Java SE 6 to version 1.6.0_41 for Mac OS X v10.6 and a corresponding one for Lion/ML. AFAICT, they're only available via Software Update, since the two at http://support.apple.com/downloads/ point to the previous versions (too busy to keep everything organized) and not the new ones. 😉

Sorry to belabor this, but is there any benefit to installing Apple's update if Oracle's Java 1.7 is already installed? Does Oracle's Java automatically remove Apple's 1.6, or so they co-exist?

I am confused. Is Java available or not available for Mountain Lion (other than a 3rd party version). I'm not a huge fan of Java, but unfortunately WordPress plug-ins, and Facebook developer tools all use Java. I thought Apple removed it, but I just read a news report that there's an update available. If it's still available, how do I re-install it?

Apple has washed their hands of Java. They are still updating Java 6, which can be installed in systems all the way up to Mountain Lion. (Trying to open anything that requires Java should prompt you to install it.) Java 6 no longer includes a web applet plug-in, though, so you would be required to install one from Oracle if you want that. Alternately, just install Java 7 from Oracle (the actual developers of Java). The latest Java exploit that's in the news today apparently only affected Java 6 and earlier.

However, installing Java for things like WordPress plug-ins and Facebook tools is foolhardy. Java has a long track record of being hacked repeatedly, and has proven itself to be extremely insecure. It should not be used unless your very livelihood depends on it, and even then only with extreme caution. I've never encountered a WordPress plugin that requires Java, and though I have no experience with Facebook development, I doubt that Java is a requirement there. (If it is, that's just another reason to quit using Facebook.)

Really, using Java is like sharing Typhoid Mary's toothbrush.

Well, now I'm really confused!

I had Java 7 installed, uninstalled it early january and so I thought I would not have java anymore on my iMac.

Now the update from today installed an update for java 6 ? And I noticed that my firefox suddenly got a java-plugin? Btw, I don't have a java symbol in my preferences, but a java plugin in the library and javavm folder hanging around somewhere.

I didn't want to get back java, so can anyone explain me how I can get rid of this again and why I got it on my machine?

You can have multiple versions of Java installed at one time, and Java really isn't something that can be easily uninstalled. But don't bother... it's just Java in the web browser that is the problem. Disable it in your web browser(s) and you're fine.

Thanks for the clarification.

Yeah, I have them all disabled already, but they should not be there at all. This is all so userunfriendly and I hate such things. Now it seems I always have to check all browsers and stuff everytime there is an update.

You can't easily uninstall Java. There's stuff installed all over the OS. It's an exercise in futility. Just use common sense and deactivate Java in browsers. That will keep you from current threats.