What is "Java Web Start"????

I have this software (Sun's ver 1.2) on my XP machine. Evidently some web sites (like the NY Times) use it to facilitate graphics [I think so, anyway, does anybody know? The JWS Help function is gobbledegook.]

Anyway, whenever a site wants to use JWS, the site stops dead for a few seconds while the software loads....annoying. Is there anyway to have JWS startup at boot, so that it's always running in the background and thus immediately available? [I have very little background stuff running, adding JWS shouldn't slow things down appreciably.]

BTW, If I click on "check for available updates ", I get "no updates available" even tho I suspect one may be available. If I go to the Sun Java site, it only talks about Java 2 Development Platform....no reference to anything called JavaWebStart that I can find. That's why I haven't been able to figure out what JWS even is. Thnx

 

chrisw--Lots of web sites that potentially might help you.
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q="Java+Web+Start"
Sorry, no experience myself.

 

jim...that seemed to lead me the right part of the Java web site, so thanks. It's still written in technogeek, not clear if I can download the new version on top of the old, or whether I should remove the old one first.

 

chrisw--Glad those references could be of some help. We New Mexicans have to stick together.
Regarding uninstalling the older version of Java before installing the new, I did a quick search of their FAQ's
http://java.sun.com/j2se/faq.html
and found
"Does the software update from Sun erase my previous version of Java?
No. It installs a newer version of the Java Runtime Environment while leaving the existing versions intact. For example, a client machine can have the J2SE versions 1.3, 1.3.1, 1.3.1_02, and 1.4 installed at the same time without conflict. This is useful for when application provider A has only certified their application on version 1.3, while application provider B requires version 1.4 for additional features or functionality. There are no conflicts or collisions between JRE versions, as they all peacefully co-exist. "
However, if you do not care about backward compatibility, it is rare that it hurts to uninstall an old version of a program before installing a newer one. I also saw at the bottom of one of Sun's pages
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/
that they still offer old versions. So if you do uninstall the old version but want it back you can do so.

 

Jim.....thanks, maybe I'll summon up the courage and try the updated version (I'll purge the old one first, however)

Chris (Santa Fe)