Reality distortion for Java on Leopard?
Not cool, Steve
Ensure Ease of Recovery with Asigra’s Agentless Software
By releasing the latest version of Mac OS/X without support for Java 6, Apple has managed to attain unpopularity and court controversy.
When Mac OS/X version 10.5 - or Leopard - was unleashed this week, many expected it would come with Java 6 support - not least because Apple as good as said it would.
But when the code arrived, there was no Java 6 - and no explanation from Apple for the omission.
The lack of Java 6 and Apple's refusal to provide a roadmap for future availability has produced a strong reaction against the Mac as a machine for development. To some it'll be seen as further justification for their reason to abandon the Mac and proof of Apple's tardiness on Java.
All this comes as the Mac was beginning to emerge as a strong candidate for development of open source applications - a platform where Sun Microsystems would like to see Java sink roots.
Surprisingly the opening blurb in the Java section of the Apple Developer Connection (ADC) Web site, still proclaims Mac OS/X as the "only major consumer operating system that comes complete with a fully configured and ready-to-use Java runtime and development environment".
Is this another fine example of Steve Jobs' reality distortion field at work, or do they know something we don't? Some are suggesting Apple may well release Java 6 support sooner rather than later. If this is the case, it would be nice if Apple could let us know, rather than leaving people to figure things out.®
Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider
COMMENTS
@Heidi Roizen said it all in 1996.
Does that also include
1.1) Tell us what you're NOT going to do/ship.
If not, then you missed the point of this article.
But I agree with you, Apple sucks on the communication side of things, that is soooo true!
1. Any company developing apps for mac os x should get a free copy of a beta version.
2. Before they remove stuff, they should tell us!
Heidi Roizen said it all in 1996.
From memory, what she said at AADC 1996 was: "We've been asking developers what we can do to help them, and we can boil almost everything we've heard down to one sentence. What developers are saying to us is, Apple, please:
1) Tell us what you're going to do.
2) Then do it."
Apple never promised Java 6 for Leopard.
Apple didn't even "as much as" promise. Reading the blurb for the WWDC session you linked to, they promised "resolution independence, a crisper Aqua look and feel, a 64-bit virtual machine, and more", all of which are delivered as part of the Leopard's bundled Java 1.5.
What happened was that a bunch of people who didn't know any better assumed that Java 1.6 would be in Leopard, despite the fact that Apple never said it would be. And after talking up that release date for months, they forgot that they'd made it up themselves in the first place!
IT infrastructure monitoring strategies
Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider
Data control in the cloud
Cloud based data management
Enabling efficient data center monitoring
