Apple released an interesting update for its version of Java mentioning that at this point the Java platform is considered deprecated and that it may not be part of future Mac OS releases.

As of the release of Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 3, the version of Java that is ported by Apple, and that ships with Mac OS X, is deprecated.

This means that the Apple-produced runtime will not be maintained at the same level, and may be removed from future versions of Mac OS X. The Java runtime shipping in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, will continue to be supported and maintained through the standard support cycles of those products.

This is concerning because at this current time Apple’s implementation is the only one available for the Apple platform which means that users reliant on Java could be stuck in limbo once support drops. More >