I love JavaFX but what bugs me is the fact that the preview release requires an Intel based machine to run JFX on a Mac since Java 6 is the only JRE compatible for JFX. Well, one can always install SoyLatte (http://landonf.bikemonkey.org/static/soylatte/) to run JFX on a non-intel based Mac but SoyLatte is far from user friendly for the normal user, or the non-tech people at the very least. So, since Apple doesn’t plan to release soon another Java 6 release for non-intel macs then what’s the point to develop with JFX? The cross-platform argument completely disappear. Will Sun provide JRE for Mac in the near future?
Official JVMs on Mac are made by Apple, not by Sun. Therefore, it is Apple’s problem, it is its fault. Releasing Java 1.6 only on Mac OS X 10.5 is a commercial choice to force customers to adopt it. Soylatte is working with the OpenJDK project. In the future, maybe you will be able to install the OpenJDK under Mac, I don’t know the current status of the project for this operating system.
Limiting Java 6 to MacOS 10.5 isn’t the problem. Anecdotally, support for previous MacOS releases by both Apple and third-party vendors fades away quite rapidly compared to other platforms. This is the nature of platform. The limitation of Java 6 support to machines with 64-bit Intel processors is more troubling.
[quote]In the future, maybe you will be able to install the OpenJDK under Mac, I don’t know the current status of the project for this operating system.
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You can install it develop with JavaFX with it too. The issue is the installation process; it’s manual and it requires a lot of low level tasks that normal Mac users would never want to do.
I’m going to distribute my game as a .zip file for Macs. They can double click on it to extract the folder and the move the folder to wherever they want. Then they have to double click on the .jar file to run the game.
As a bonus, Linux users can use the same .zip file.
The sensible way to distribute the game would be as a .app file, but I can’t seem to get that to work. It can’t be too hard, but I only have so much time to spend on this.
[quote]I’m going to distribute my game as a .zip file for Macs. They can double click on it to extract the folder and the move the folder to wherever they want. Then they have to double click on the .jar file to run the game.
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On Windows I can’t image the normal user to do all manual tasks. They expect to run an exe which provide default options and that’s it. I’m not sure that your Mac users would be happy with your installation process?
Under Linux too.
Use rather Java Webstart ;D
JavaFx 1.0 runs on mac and you can develope JavaFX 1.0 applications and applets that also will run on the Mac - to the level of, I have a Mac and have been running it for months 
JavaFX 1.0 runs under jre 1.5 …
[quote]JavaFX 1.0 runs under jre 1.5 …
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With SoyLatte or Sun’s JRE?
Sun’s JRE for sure, I’m not sure it works with Soylatte, I don’t advise you to use it with the OpenJDK because of some big bugs in netx (equivalent of Java Webstart).
what do you mean by intel?
I have AMD and everything works
I think you meant the architecture that intel and AMD both have and some mac processors don’t have?