Java for OS X 2014-001?

[andyinindy]

Hello, JAMF people.

In case you didn't notice, Apple released Java for Mac OS X 2014-001 today for 10.7, 10.8, and 10.9:

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1572

The update contains Java 1.6 update 65, which was released by Oracle on 2013-10-15. This strikes me as odd, since Apple has supposedly gotten out of the Java update business entirely. Apparently they care that users are on the latest release of Java 6, which is deprecated anyway!

Upon closer examination with Pacifist, the update includes a lot more than just Java 6u65. The Apple Malware Removal Tool (MRT), as well as all of the supporting Java apps (Java Web Start, Web Launcher, Java MDNS, etc.) are also included.

This update is available for manual download only at the moment, which means that it is not showing up on the NetSUS for download via Apple Software Update.

Is everyone planning to roll out this update manually? We deployed Java 6u65 months ago, so I am wondering whether it makes sense to push it out.

Thoughts?

--Andy

[scottb]

If you follow the "More Info" link when the (10.9.x) Mac tells you that you need to install a JDK, it takes you to Oracle's page now as opposed to Apple's as in the past.
This is the landing spot.
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html

I can only imagine this would cause more confusion for the average Mac person out there so I guess pushing it out might be a good idea.

[tuinte]

Hey, guys:

I'm kind of ignorant of what's happened/happening with Java re: Oracle vs Apple. We have:

Java for Mac OS X 2014-001 from Apple
Java 7 Update 60 from Oracle
Java 8 from Oracle

What combo of these covers all the bases? I assume Java 8 supersedes 7, but does the Apple pkg need to be installed as well?

Bit of a noob question, I know.

[andyinindy]

@tuinte, not a n00b question at all. Java on OS X is a mess.

Apple provides us with Java 6 for some reason (which is no longer updated by Oracle and is considered deprecated). Oracle provides us with both Java 7 and 8, but offers no easy way to download updates without an account, jumping though EULAs etc.

I ended up creating a script that pulls down the latest Java 7/8 from Oracle and installs it in an automated fashion, but it sucks to have to do it this way.

#!/bin/sh
# Update Java 7 for Mac OS X
# $4 = Java 7 DMG URL
# $5 = DMG Name
# $6 = Mounted Volume Name

# Create Temp Dir
mkdir -p "/var/pretendco/tmp/"
chmod 755 "/var/pretendco/tmp/"

# grab latest Java from Oracle
cd /var/pretendco/tmp/ && curl -L -C - -b "oraclelicense=accept-securebackup-cookie" "$4" > "$5"
hdiutil attach -nobrowse /var/pretendco/tmp/"$5"
installer -pkg /Volumes/"$6"/* -target / -verbose
hdiutil detach /Volumes/"$6"/
rm -rf /var/pretendco/tmp/"$5"

exit 0

I set the parameters like so when I add the script to the policy:

$4= "http://download.oracle.com/otn-pub/java/jdk/7u60-b19/jdk-7u60-macosx-x64.dmg"
$5= "jdk-7u60-macosx-x64.dmg"
$6= "JDK 7 Update 60"

Loads of fun, eh?

[lunddal]

It seems to be a re-release of Java for OS X 2013-005.

[davidhiggs]

same release of java, but adds installation improvements. possibly better support when installed with Java 7/8

before install: build 1.6.0_65-b14-462-11M4609
after install: build 1.6.0_65-b14-466.1-11M4716