 BlackbirdBuilt for SpeedPremium
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2 edits | reply to NICK ADSL UK
Java Finally Will Have an Option to Replace Older Versions Thanks Nick!
This is something of a watershed Java update for Sun. To many users who have complained about a Java update leaving older, security-vulnerable versions in place and accessible (unless manually uninstalled), Sun appears to have been listening! From a Sun website regarding JRE 1.6.10 :
»java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/techn···reUpdate
The JRE can now be installed in two configurations: patch-in-place and static. JRE updates may be configured to patch a pre-existing installation or do a brand new installation.
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Patch-in-place configuration
The patch-in-place mode implies that when a version of the JRE exists on a machine, any updates belonging to the same JRE family will be done in place, meaning, the existing JRE will be patched with changes. A JRE is installed in patch-in-place mode by default. The default installation directory is c:/Program Files/Java/jre where n is the Java SE minor version number (for example, n = 6 for version 1.6.0_10).
For example, if a user has previously installed JRE 6u10 in the c:/Program Files/Java/jre6 directory, and now attempts to install JRE 6u14, the version 6u14 installer does not create a new directory. Instead, it updates the pre-existing c:/Program Files/Java/jre6 directory with the new 6u14 content. The user is left with the 6u14 JRE only. The 6u10 JRE no longer exists.
Static configuration
When a JRE is installed in the static mode, it will not be updated in place by newer versions. A later version of the same JRE family will be installed in a separate directory. This mode ensures that vendors, who require a specific version of the JRE for their product, can be certain that the JRE will not be overwritten by a newer version.
This seems to indicate that for version 1.6.10 and all subsequent versions, the installation option will exist at each update to automatically replace earlier versions back to and including 1.6.10. This still will leave anything older than 1.6.10 in place, but over time, the uninstalled old-version Java problem that has led a number of users to experience malware penetrations should now start to diminish. 
edited to add:
I just discovered chachazz  has already noted this over in the Software Forum thread "Help » Java 6.0.40.12" thread (»Re: [Update] Java 6u10). Apparently great minds run in the same direction... chachazz's just runs a bit faster than mine.
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