Java 8 Updates 65/66 are now available - Oracle is using an application to install (again)

[mthakur]

Oracle has released Java 8 Updates 65/66. This includes security fixes.

The release notes can be found here, and the downloads for Windows, Mac, Linux et al are available here.

Bizarrely, Oracle distributes Java 8 Update 65 as an installer application — apparently they didn't learn from their experience with Java 8 Update 40 back in April 2015. (The more things change...)

Even more bizarrely, Java 8 Update 66 is released as a pkg file.

[kstrick]

I saw that too, wtf

[mvu]

Here is the link that lists the path to the installer package inside the app in case you can't remember (me).

https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/discussion.html?id=13703

[Aziz]

Downloaded from java.com.

Java 8 Update 65, .pkg inside an .app.

optional image ALT text

Java 8 Update 66 comes in a .pkg.

Now, time to find out why there is two versions and what the differences are.

[betty02]

So are we best using the 66 app and take out the package ourselves or use the pre-packaged 66 release?

[mm2270]

Ugh, ok. Questions abound.

Why are there two different build versions released at effectively the same time?

Why would one come as an app and the other as a pkg?

Has Oracle lost their collective minds?

One of those questions is rhetorical and need not be answered.

[Aziz]

@mm2270

"Java SE 8u65 includes important security fixes. Oracle strongly recommends that all Java SE 8 users upgrade to this release."

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/8u65-relnotes-2687063.html

"Java SE 8u66 is a "patch-set" update, including all of 8u65 plus additional features (described in the release notes)."

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/8u66-relnotes-2692847.html

66 has more bug fixes than 65 though. This still doesn't make sense Oracle, why not one installer?

[AVmcclint]

I double clicked on the Java 8 Update 66.app just to see if maybe there was another attempt to install crap from Ask.com. I didn't even get that far. I stopped when I saw the following prompt:

And you have to hit cancel 3 times before it stops asking. "a new helper tool" Is there anything in the release notes about that?

[Aziz]

@AVmcclint That's odd. I installed 8u66 on my personal machine last night and never received that prompt.

[rtrouton]

Oracle switched to an install application for Java 8 Update 66 overnight. I have a post on the differences between Update 65 and Update 66 available here:

https://derflounder.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/oracles-java-8-update-66/

[mm2270]

Thanks @AVmcclint and @rtrouton for the explanations and details.

So the short version is that Update 65 has “critical bug fixes” and Update 66 has “Update 65’s bug fixes, plus more bug fixes.”

That's pretty much how I understood it as well. Nice work Oracle. Bug fixes for your bug fixes. I still don't quite get why two releases though. Why not drop Update 65 and just post Update 66 since it contains all the fixes we need (for today at least)? I'm sure there's a reason, but I'm doubtful its a logical reason.

[rtrouton]

There's Oracle logic in play. 65 is a CPU update and 66 is a PSU update:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/cpu-psu-explained-2331472.html

Basically, CPU updates are "Fix what MUST be fixed" while PSU updates are "MUST be fixed, plus other fixes that somehow aren't MUSTs."

[kstrick]

@rtrouton Those filthy so-and-so's.....
I can't believe they pulled and switched overnight....
(OK, I CAN believe, it's Oracle..... )

Glad I at least grabbed their PKG yesterday (although there are clearly workarounds)

[mtruskowski]

It's worth noting that the JDK is still just a straight PKG. Since most of the machines we install Java on these days are for computer science class, I am going to just deploy the JDK only as it includes the runtime environment anyway. Only downside is now I have no idea how many billions of devices Java is running on.

[pawan_joshi]

Where can I get the .pkg for 8u66 ?

[rtrouton]

@pawan.joshi, you can download the Java 8 Update 66 install application, then copy the installer package out of it.

I have a post with more information about Java 8 Update 66 available from the link below:

https://derflounder.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/oracles-java-8-update-66/

[pawan_joshi]

That worked. Thanks rtrouton.

[aatsi]

Where can I get the .pkg for 8u66 ?

Download the .dmg, Show Package Contents for the .app, and then dig into Contents/Resources.

[alan_trewartha]

To push out "authorised sites" I'm doing this…

ls -1 /Users/ | while read username
do
    su -l $username -c 'mkdir -p ~/Library/Application Support/Oracle/Java/Deployment/security/'
    su -l $username -c 'echo "http://sitename.com" >> ~/Library/Application Support/Oracle/Java/Deployment/security/exception.sites'
done

which is per user, and new users that login won't have it. Anyone got a better 'central' technique rather than per person? (I tried doing the same at /Library/… etc, but that didn't take)