Mac OS Java Penetration Stats 2008

General Discussions
#1

Java 5.0: 91%
Java 6.0: <1%
Java 1.4: 9%

Just worth knowing if you do Java dev! Means that using Pack200 is out of the question for 10% of customers, and the other 90% are going to get a shit security dialog for signed code.

The Java 6.0 thing is a bit surprising… I wonder if that’s something to do with my code not working on Java 6.0 equipped Macs properly, yet there are indeed 38 people who played at least one of my games on such a Mac.

For the last 3 months, the stats are:

Java 5.0: 93%
Java 6.0: <1%
Java 1.4: 7%

so gradually 1.4 dies off and gets replaced.

Cas :slight_smile:

#2

I wonder how Java compares to other runtimes like Flash with respect to people having the latest version.

Hopefully the auto-update feature will help once Java6 reaches a good percentage (Not sure if Mac has auto-update in Java6) :persecutioncomplex:

#3

Cool, thanks for sharing the stats.

I’ve seen a drop in Mac Java 1.4 users in 2008 - From 15% at the beginning of the year to <5% in December. Woo! (I’m seeing 0% Mac Java 6 users, probably because I’m doing applets.)

Already I’m seeing nearly 50% of Windows users with 6u10 or 6u11. Wow.

#4

January so far:
~2000 daily visits,
62% IE
32% FF
2.4% Safari

So yeah, more FF users, but less Safari users. Net Applications is reporting 68% IE, 21% FF, 8% Safari

#5

Java 6.0 requires 64-bit CPU. So many MacBooks are 32-bit, including mine.

#6

Even if the O/S is 32 bit? I have a 64bit CPU, but am running 32bit Windows XP and can still run Java 6.

#7

Another possibility: even people that have 1.6 on their Macs might not use it by default. I tend to leave 1.5 as my default for applets, apps, and JWS because a few apps just don’t work with 1.6 (Azureus, I’m looking at you and your SWT errors!) and they don’t fall back on 1.5, so it’s too much of a hassle for me to switch back and forth depending on which app I’m opening. It may be a chicken and egg thing, where devs aren’t updating their stuff to work right with 1.6 because they’re not seeing people use it, which is only the case because a few popular apps don’t work with it.

On OS X there is only 64 bit Java 6; I’m pretty sure Windows has 32 bit ones available, and I suspect that’s what most people are using.

#8

Yep. Which is why I run Parallels and Java6 under XP. COME ON APPLE!!

#9

Just install opensolaris chris :stuck_out_tongue:

Java update kinda works for ppl that feel that they actually use java. other ppl it might scare away…

…And it just pisses off some other ppl like me since they messed up the ‘just auto-update and don’t fr*king bug me’ function just because setting it as a default might piss ppl off doesn’t mean you don’t have to include it at all. I wonder if they are going use the vista/windows-update framework.

#10

The figure of 1% is incredibly misleading. All Mac users that have a 64-bit Intel (which is any model from the last 2 years except the Mini) and uses Software Update will have Java 6 installed. However, by default Java 5 remains the preferred environment, unless you manually set to always use Java 6 using the Java Preferences utility.

#11

Where’s that utility? I’ve got a MacBook Pro Intel Core 2 Duo which I thought was supposed to 64-bit, but I’ve never been able to get the thing to install Java 6. Unless maybe I already have it installed and I’m just not using it. It’s annoying that the System Profiler won’t show me how many bits I’ve got.

#12

It’s kinda irrelevant whether it’s installed or not - if it’s disabled by default it might as well not be there.

Cas :slight_smile:

#13

Applications -> Utilities -> Java -> Java Preferences

The real question, of course, is why it doesn’t show up in System Preferences like everything else, but who knows…

I’d probably not recommend turning Java 6 on by default, every time I’ve tried I’ve ended up having to roll it back. Then again, the software you use might not cause problems for you, so give it a shot…the worst thing about it to me is that to run most web start applications these days, I have to use Java 6 or else I get a totally silent crash (probably more the fault of developers only targeting 1.6 than OS X), so I keep having to bounce back and forth between them. Hence stupid Java Preferences “earned” itself a precious locked spot on my dock, which irritates me to no end…

#14

Well apparently even my less-than-year-old laptop has 32-bit Java stuff installed, so I’m still stuck with 1.5. Bogus.

#15

Cas, it’s not disabled, it’s just lower in the priorities list. For example, the default priorities are first Java 5, then Java 6. So when you run a Java 6-only game it will use the Java 6 VM, as that’s the highest ranked VM that supports that game. But as I remember Puppygames runs from 1.4 and up, so in that case it will use the Java 5 VM because that the highest in the list that supports the game.

Reading back my post it seems incredibly confusing, but what I’m trying to say is that you can only know how much Mac users have 1.6 installed if your game actually requires 1.6 :slight_smile:

#16

[quote=“Mr_Gol,post:15,topic:32805”]
Yeah that would taint the numbers, it also sounds really silly in the light of all the effort of making Java backwards compatible.

#17

Hmm… and I suppose if I try and specify that it requires 1.6 it’ll fail to run at all on those systems without 1.6. Bah. What a total balls up Apple are making of Java.

Cas :slight_smile:

#18

in worst case you could check with the deployment toolkit if 1.6 is available and insert the correct link to the jnlp, or applet descriptor into the page. But this will involve some testing.

i think it is also possible since 6u10 to put multiple supported jre versions or jre version ranges into the jnlp but i don’t know if this is backwards compatible also.

[edit] are you also tracking those who have not java installed? I would be interested in general java availability

#19

No, haven’t got those stats. I think it’s very high anyway (>90% have at least 1.4.2 I suspect).

Cas :slight_smile: