Jamf Nation Community

rtrouton · ‎03-03-2015

There's a new Java 8 update out as of today. Oracle has decided to change its application deployment strategy from providing a standard installer package to an installer application.

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This application will prompt for admin privileges before fully launching.

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Once you provide admin authentication, the application launches.

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You will be prompted to install an Ask.com toolbar. The installation of the toolbar is selected by default.

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It will then tell you how many devices run Java while it installs.

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Once complete, it'll tell you what it's installed.

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It'll then ask you to install the Ask.com toolbar as a Safari extension.

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If you then choose to install the Ask.com toolbar, Safari will look like this.

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dderusha · ‎03-03-2015

YESS!!! I really wanted ask.com Extensions built into Java installers. Thanks for following through on my feature request Oracle!

timsutton · ‎03-03-2015

I like this version of the installation, if you happen to have Apple's Java 6 still installed:

dpertschi · ‎03-03-2015

Good Grief! What the he** is wrong with these people!

They obviously just hired some Adobe developers on the cheap!

mm2270 · ‎03-03-2015

Goodbye Oracle!
You've crossed the line as far as I'm concerned. This is just utter and complete garbage. Application installer instead of a pkg installer? Prompting to install Safari toolbars? This is moving more into the realm of adware than software. What in the world are they thinking?? Maybe they recruited former Adobe installer developers?

As always Rich, your diligence in keeping us informed on this is appreciated.

jhbush · ‎03-03-2015

@mm2270 at least the JDK for JAVA 8 Update 40 is still a .pkg and doesn't have the Ask toolbar.

mm2270 · ‎03-03-2015

Ah, thanks for that info @jhbush1973. Didn't catch that part. So, the above only applies to the JRE installer?

jhbush · ‎03-03-2015

@mm2270 it appears so. Hopefully Rich will have a blog post up and I've filed a support ticket with Oracle under our agreement.

mm2270 · ‎03-03-2015

Yeah, issue is, we typically only install the JRE. We don't have much need for the JDK version for our clients. Are we seriously going to need to start doing captures to get Java installers now? If I could convince the org to completely drop using it I would, but of course some web applications require it. Ugh.

quedayone · ‎03-03-2015

I happend to be testing Rich's script today and I can till you that it is not working.

Running script java_8_install_latest.sh... Script exit code: 255 Script result: /dev/disk2 GUID_partition_scheme /dev/disk2s1 Apple_HFS /private/tmp/java_eight.ZAJY installer: Error the package path specified was invalid: ''. "disk2" unmounted. "disk2" ejected.

It looks like it will still download the new installer DMG, but the app as an installer I think is breaking it.
I did run the app and it did NOT prompt me to install ask.com toolbar crap. I will test some more.....

htse · ‎03-03-2015

You can drill down into the package contents, there's a pkg in Resources/JavaAppletPlugin.pkg, which I think is the effective payload we want, without any of the interactive and ask.com nonsense

timsutton · ‎03-03-2015

..and if you use AutoPkg, you can keep using the latest OracleJava8.pkg recipe:

https://github.com/autopkg/recipes/commit/873e477b2941051fa4cee12da07c4845852dbe7f

quedayone · ‎03-03-2015

Looks like there is a .pkg in the app bundle:
Oracle Java 1.8.0_40/Java 8 Update 40.app/Contents/Resources/JavaAppletPlugin.pkg

Pretty sure that is the guy we might want to use.

quedayone · ‎03-03-2015

+ 1 for AutoPkg

mm2270 · ‎03-03-2015

Well, that gives us something to work with, but let's hope some rationale prevails at Oracle and they return to a regular good ol' package installer at some point. I see no reason to move to an .app installer other than arrogance and/or ignorance.

Sandy · ‎03-03-2015

There is a JavaAppletPlugin.pkg inside the .app, and for anyone out there in K12 trying to keep the Pearson monster happy, this does appear to work.
Super timing!

sflockhart · ‎03-03-2015

JavaAppletPlugin.pkg does work. I was able to send it out as a policy.

mm2270 · ‎03-03-2015

So, does this update only work on Yosemite? On my 10.9.5 Mac it doesn't show up as being an available update.

donmontalvo · ‎03-03-2015

(duplicate)

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https://donmontalvo.com

calumhunter · ‎03-03-2015

I see no reason to move to an .app installer other than arrogance and/or ignorance.

+1 arrogance

tangerinehuge · ‎03-03-2015

It appears to work on both Mavericks and Yosemite. It didn't show up as an update for me on Mavericks but I was able to install it from the DMG. Interestingly, I was not prompted to install the Ask toolbar when I ran the installer on my Yosemite machine. It just skipped that step and never installed it.

kishjayson · ‎03-03-2015

Just downloaded the latest version to see for myself and confirmed that the application DID NOT ask me to install the Ask.com Toolbar. Makes me wonder if Oracle realized their error early on and removed it...

donmontalvo · ‎03-03-2015

McDonald's: More than a trillion served, by robots
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101253344

High blood pressure? High cholesterol? Diabetes? What are you talking about? There is nothing unhealthy about our food. We have served one trillion people (so far), what's not to like? - George Costanza, McDonalds Franchise Owner

8 billion computers run (meh, maybe cumulatively, over the years) run Java...but Oracle can't afford to hire a capable/competent person to create proper platform specific installers. Very McDonalds.

Don

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https://donmontalvo.com

tangerinehuge · ‎03-03-2015

I just downloaded it and it did ask me to install the toolbar on my Mavericks VM so it don't think they've removed it.

calumhunter · ‎03-03-2015

the java #toolbargate scandal has begun

donmontalvo · ‎03-03-2015

(duplicate)

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https://donmontalvo.com

gskibum · ‎03-03-2015

I've gone from indifferent about Java (at best) to disgusted.

H3144-IT · ‎03-03-2015

I simply did not get the ASK Toolbar Installation Prompt at all.

Who the heck uses ASK anyway?

donmontalvo · ‎03-03-2015

I declined to install the Ask toolbar, and behold the Sponsors.framework garbage, among other cr@p:

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Nice...let's drop aliases into these folders...

Mac:~ admin$ ls -l /Library/LaunchAgents/com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist 
lrwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  104 Mar  3 14:54 /Library/LaunchAgents/com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist -> /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist
Mac:~ admin$ ls -l /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist 
lrwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  103 Mar  3 14:54 /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist -> /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist
Mac:~ admin$ ls -l /Library/PreferencePanes/JavaControlPanel.prefPane 
lrwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  101 Mar  3 14:54 /Library/PreferencePanes/JavaControlPanel.prefPane -> /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Home/lib/deploy/JavaControlPanel.prefPane
Mac:~ admin$

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https://donmontalvo.com

donmontalvo · ‎03-03-2015

@mm2270 wrote:

Goodbye Oracle! You've crossed the line as far as I'm concerned.

My personal MBPr has been free of Adobe/Microsoft/Java and it couldn't be happier. ;)

Don

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https://donmontalvo.com

rtrouton · ‎03-03-2015

I've written a post with my findings so far:

https://derflounder.wordpress.com/2015/03/04/oracles-java-8-update-40-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

rtrouton · ‎03-03-2015

For folks who are using my install_latest_oracle_java_8 script, I've posted an updated script to accommodate for Java 8 Update 40's changes:

https://github.com/rtrouton/rtrouton_scripts/tree/master/rtrouton_scripts/install_latest_oracle_java...

Details on the changes are here:

https://github.com/rtrouton/rtrouton_scripts/commit/02f2f0c82ef4dd5f9b0f047cd015d7056e8ea004

cwaldrip · ‎03-03-2015

App installer? Ugh. Ultra annoying. Grrr. But, I've seen the same thing as @quedayone. I wasn't prompted for the Ask toolbar.

gskibum · ‎03-04-2015

"We want Java on as many devices as possible. So let's make it difficult for IT to deploy. And hijack web beowsers in the process."

I would love to have been a fly on the wall at the Oracle meetings that led us here.

mm2270 · ‎03-04-2015

I would love to have been a fly on the wall at the Oracle meetings that led us here.

I was thinking the same thing yesterday. I would say this was probably not a software engineer's decision (is it really ever?) Some upper management airhead at Oracle that knows nothing about IT or user experience came up with this stroke of brilliance and convinced someone else it was a brilliant idea, and it got approved. I'd imagine at least some of the actual developers at Oracle were probably cringing when they were given this direction.

Kennedy · ‎03-04-2015

Rolled out the package inside the app today - working well.

Ultimately not a big deal - agree with @mm2270][/url - it would not have been the software engineers that 'decided' to do this. Poor guys/gals.

My 2c.

taugust04 · ‎03-04-2015

Is there any reason not to install the JDK instead of the JRE? I've always deployed the JDK because I read a while back that it installed more "bits" that are used by actual Java applications that run on the Mac (not web applets). Perhaps I misinterpreted that? I also was under the impression that the Java 6 implementation that was built into OS X from Apple was based on the JDK as well...

~Ted

GabeShack · ‎03-04-2015

Using the package inside the app, does it just overwrite the plug-in? IE does it maintain previously pushed settings (for instance updates set to off stay that way after using the package inside the app)?

Gabe Shackney
Princeton Public Schools

Gabe Shackney
Princeton Public Schools

dpertschi · ‎03-04-2015

@mm2270

would say this was probably not a software engineer's decision (is it really ever?) Some upper management airhead at Oracle that knows nothing about IT or user experience came up with this stroke of brilliance and convinced someone else it was a brilliant idea, and it got approved.

Absolutely, and that stroke of brilliance was fueled by hard cold cash! Oracle big shots determine that they can't afford to constantly develop bug security/bug fixes = advertising deal.

Won't be surprised when Adobe has to pull the same trick for their shi**y Flash player.

cashxx · ‎03-04-2015

Here all start complaining!!!

http://bugreport.java.com/bugreport/main.jsp At the bottom under “Report an Issue” from the drop down select “Comments and/or Suggestions” and write away!

If thats not enough for you send the CEO’s an email as well!! mark.hurd@oracle.com and safra.catz@oracle.com they seem to hold a joint CEO positions.

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Java 8 Update 40 out - now using an application to install