Java 5 vs. Java 6
This release is indeed targeted for professional developers more than hobbyists. While it is true than some professional developers need 1.6, despite all the whining to the contrary, the vast majority of Java developers are still on 1.5, for the following reason: almost anybody who develops enterprise applications is at best using 1.5, since the EJB3 appservers all run on 1.5. And the fact remains Java is #1 because it is number one in enterprise application development.
For those who claim Java applets will run just howdy doody in 1.6. I use a certain payroll company that requires you to run their client side Java app in IE. I foolishly upgraded my Windows to 1.6 and it broke the applet. Fortunately this was in Fusion so I was able to roll back to an earlier version of the VM.
It is for these reasons that Apple wisely decided to keep 1.5 standard and allow the choice of 1.6, which will be mostly used by those developers who need/want 1.6. For 99% of the rest of the Apple computer users, 1.5 is more than fine. Not just for broswer applets, but for full core Java apps: Azureus works great, and I think someone noted 1.6 breaks Azureus.
As for people who claim to be "professional developers" and are still using PowerPC machines, my jaw dropped on that one. If you are being paid to code in Java you are presumably being paid quite well. Your computer is your most important tool, and once you load up eclipse with a gazillion plugins, JBoss, the console log, Firefox and whatever else you need to get the job done, you sure as hell want the fastest computer out there with as much memory as possible. I tend to replace my Mac every two years (giving the older 'puter to one of my greatful kids) since the faster models increase my productivity significantly. Time is money, so I can make up the cost of a new model quite quickly by the improved performance. Hence Apple's decision to forego the minute number of developers on PPCs or 32 bit intel machines, is hardly going to lose Apple any market share. If you can't afford to upgrade your development box, you should be developing on an Asus Eee PC.
Finally for all the whiners who are crying about Apple not having a public road map for Java. Apple doesn't have a public road map for anything. I have tried Windows and Linux for development and Mac OS X wins hands down. I will continue to develop on Apple and enjoy my vastly increased productivity by doing so. If you don't like it, there are alternatives, so go use them and stop whining.
