Java Upgrade Dilemma

[shoppercharlie]

Trying to upgrade Java so I can use my Bayer Glucose Monitor on my MacBook Pro. After viewing requirements, I need to determine if my MacBook-Pro using OSX-5.8, is 32-bit or 64-bit. I'm illiterate about how to determine which I have.

MacBook Pro
Mac OS X v. 10.5.8
Processor: 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo
Memory: 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

How do I determine which "bit" I have?

Thanks,

Charlie

[vansmith]

Core Duo is 32bit, Core 2 Duo is 64bit. Are you sure it's a Core Duo?

[shoppercharlie]

Sorry to say. as posted, my "About this Mac" specs are as indicated. I think I'm also stuck come June since, as I understand it, I won't be able to use iCloud, nor Lion. Guess I must upgrade to a current Mac.

Too bad, sort of, since I've had almost every Apple/Mac since the first Apple, Apple II, Apple IIe, Mac '84, Mac SE, Mac SE-30 and four-6 other since they began. At age 79 I guess I'll have to purchase one more. (Didn't get a "Lisa" though.)

Charlie

Don't know if I should cry or jump for joy at the prospect.----

[vansmith]

Yes, Lion won't work with a Core Duo and iCloud requires Lion. You could however always upgrade to Snow Leopard.

[shoppercharlie]

Just upgrading to Snow Leopard won't let me stay with .mac/.me when everything goes to iCloud or is Apple going to continue .mac/.me for eMail only?

[vansmith]

MobileMe ends regardless of what OS you have. Out of curiosity, returning to your initial question, what version of Java do you need and which version do you have?

[shoppercharlie]

My glucose meter says it requires Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.6.0_07 or higher.
It says I don't have it. My Java Preferences.app is v. 12.9.0 but I guess that's not the same thing. When I search I end up with a bunch of javascript and a couple NSJava items, but nothing similar to the JRE.

So, I don't know where to find it and determine which version I have on my machine so I can't tell you. How do I determine my answer?

Charlie

[vansmith]

Java Preferences will tell you what version you have in the "General" tab. For instance, here's what mine looks like (yours might look slightly different given that I'm running Lion):

Screen Shot 2012-02-04 at 4.20.00 PM.jpg

As you can see, I have both Java 1.6 and 1.7.

[shoppercharlie]

Thanks,
Here's what mine shows:

---------------------------------------------
Java Preferences

Checked: J2SE 5.0 Apple 32-bit 1.5.0_30-b03

Un-Checked: J2SE 1.4.2 Apple 32-bit 1.4.2_22
---------------------------------------------

That's it.

Charlie

[vansmith]

You indeed don't have Java 6 (1.6.0). Unfortunately, I just remembered that Java 6 was 64bit only for Leopard (for whatever reason). This explains why your machine, which is a 32bit computer, doesn't have Java 6.

[shoppercharlie]

Does that mean "if I install Snow Leopard I'll be able to add Java 1.6.xxx"?

[vansmith]

It would seem that Java 6 is available for 32bit Macs with Snow Leopard but I'm not entirely 100% sure. I'll have to defer to someone here who is running a 32bit Mac with SL to confirm.

[shoppercharlie]

Thanks very much for your patience and assistance.

Charlie

[financegalsf]

I believe my problem is similar. Just upgraded to 10.7.3 on my Mac, keep getting Java runtime error and I have all the latest updates. Problems with some websites too, but it seems to be focused on Java application. Will keep looking for answers.

[financegalsf]

How did you install Java runtime? The Java website says Apple has its own version, and I have to get it with Apple update. I am all current (10.7.3) but keep getting the error message. Any help would be appreciated. Tried to download via Java Preferences but I keep getting this message: <<To open “Java Preferences.app,” you need to install a Java runtime, but you are not connected to the Internet. To install a Java runtime later, open “Java Preferences.app” again. [Network Diagnostics] or [ok] - neither button helps. Have most definitely been connected to the Internet at the time the messages are generated.