Java for XP Pro. SP2 ( should I insatll )

[Charlie W]

I have Windows XP Pro. version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600 , is what system info says . It is OEM .

Nascar Track Pass comes free with my ISP . When I have tried to connect to the in car scanners I get a message to install plug ins for this to run or something like that . This is with Firefox 2 and I also have IE 7 and get a message to install java . My windows version did not come with java and I can not find java on the computer. I have looked at Microsoft site and they say they are fazing out java . Is java a security risk ? Is Microsoft going to replace java with something simular that will work like java ?

My ISP told me to install SUN Java . I am not sure whether to do this or not . Can anyone advise me about this.

I have not been to a Nascar Race since the late '80 's and I probably will never go to another race in person as the tickets are way over priced and they have taken speed away from the cars at Daytona & Talladega . I do watch on TV .

Thanks for feedback.

[codered6651]

There will be no harm if you download from here http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp you want the first one JDK 6.

[Charlie W]

Okay , thanks much . I will give it a try.

[glc]

You do not need the whole JDK, just the JRE is fine. JDK is for developers.

Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 6
The Java SE Runtime Environment (JRE) allows end-users to run Java applications.

[Charlie W]

Yes , I was looking around the Sun website last night & into the early morning . I thought the JRE 6 was all I needed . Can this be uninstalled alright if I later decide I do not want the JRE ?

They said to disable firewall & download helpers before the installation . They had something about a offline download but I was to tired to really read all it said about that.

I am in no hurry and I'd like to know exactly what this software does and why Microsoft decided not to use java anymore ? If this is just browser related do I need to download for IE 7 and Firefox 2 ? I use Firefox mostly but it is not set as my default browser and links in emails open with IE 7 . I'm going to go back to Sun tonight and see what I can find out .

Thanks for more feedback .

P.S. GLC or any other mod. I was drying some clothes when I logged in to reply to this post , I went to get clothes out of dryer and when I got back to the computer and submited the post it said I was not logged in . What do I need to do to fix this ? I might of been away for about 10 minutes .

[glc]

Install the JRE - and you won't be uninstalling it - but you can, it's not permanent. It's needed to be able to view anything written in Java. I install it on every computer I build or work on. Microsoft had their own "Java" but Sun successfully sued Microsoft to discontinue it. There is only one "Java" and it belongs to Sun. There is no security risk as long as you allow its automatic updater to run. It will hook into all browsers on the computer.

The login issue is common, especially if you are using any kind of cookie restrictions. Just log back in and proceed.

[Charlie W]

Okay , thanks GLC . I will download the JRE . I guess microsoft's greed got the best of them this time . They are like the oil companies wanting more , more ,more . Thanks again for the help .

[Charlie W]

Well , I finally got the JRE SE 6 downloaded . I tried to setup an account with Java but I had some trouble with that & tech support said I really did not need an account to download the program .

I have a question about the Java Download Manager . They said it was easier to update with this installed . I downloaded it to my desktop ran the installer , then moved the program to a software installation folder I have in my documents and then deleted the icons off my desktop .

Will this work the way I did this ? I did the JRE SE 6 the same way except I did not move to my documents as the java Icon was in control panel already . That Java site was not the easiest site to navigate . Thanks for anymore feedback .

[glc]

If the Java icon is in the control panel, that's all you need. You don't need the installers any more.

[Charlie W]

Okay , thanks GLC .