Oracle’s Java is a technology used on all major platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux) to ensure a secure working environment for various applications. Platform portability is one of its major advantages and due to this, almost every piece of electronic equipment in the world uses Java technologies. Billions of PCs, mobile phones, Blu-ray players, printers, medical devices, car navigation systems or web cams make us of it.
Java enables developers to create software on one platform and provide it to users running other platforms. Thus, an application developed on Windows can successfully run on Mac or Linux and vice versa. Java Runtime Environment allows the execution of almost any software, from games to web applications and services.
Java Runtime Environment (JRE) incorporates a virtual machine (also known as the Java Virtual Machine), a collection of core classes and adjacent platform libraries. Actually, JRE represents a runtime environment for the virtual machine and is the part that allows users to run .jar applications (Java archive, proprietary Java format). During installation, Java Runtime Environment also deploys a plugin that facilitates the execution of applets within local browsers.
While Java sits patiently on the computer, it instantly acts when called upon. And that happens more often than you may think of. Whether you play online games or chat with your friends, Java is running in the background making sure you have an enjoyable experience.
Oracle's platform also features a Control Panel that allows the configuration of network and temporary Internet files settings or security certificates. You can also manage the settings of the JRE and access more advanced functions such as Debugging, Java console, Default Java for Browsers, Java Plug-in, JavaFX runtime, JRE Auto-Download or Security.
The Java Runtime Environment is also meant to be distributed by developers alongside their main Java application. This way, they make sure that you will be able to run their Java-written programs. It is used at large scale on various devices and has reached a usability level to the point where having it is not optional anymore.

What's New in This Release:
NEW FEATURES AND CHANGES:
· Retina Display support on Mac OS X
· Deployment Rule Set
· Option to disable the "JRE out of date" warning
· New Security Warnings for Unsigned and Self-Signed Applications
· Local Applets return NULL for DocumentBase
· JAXP Security Improvements
· Default x.509 Certificates Have Longer Key Length
BUG FIXES:
· [macosx] EmbeddedFrame doesn't become active window
· Printing an image using AUTOSENSE fails to print
· Edits to text components hang for clipboard access
· NPE in sun.font.FontConfigManager.getFontConfigFont() when libfontconfig.so is not installed
· Unix printing does not check the result of exec'd lpr/lp command
· Use POSIX compliant include file headers in sun/awt/medialib/mlib_types.h
· Potential memory leak in error handling code in X11SurfaceData.c
· Dependency on non-POSIX header file causes portability problem
· [macosx] Startup is much slower in headless mode for apps using Fonts
· [OGL] Incorrect alpha used, during blit from SW to the texture.
· Graphics2D.drawPolygon() f...