This information does not affect users of Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard).
• My software is cross-platform, and requires the features of a Java 1.5 (or later) run-time environment. Java 1.6 for Mac OS X is available from Apple for all currently supported OS X operating systems, including Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) and Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion).
• For users of Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) and Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion), the first time you attempt to run a Java Application (such as my software), or visit a web-page requiring Java, you will be directed to an Apple Server to download and install a Java 1.6 run-time. Presumably, Apple will continue to keep this in place until the transition to Java 1.7 from Oracle is complete, perhaps in 2013.
• Users of Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) will get a message refusing to open my applications. This is because I haven't paid the yearly fee to be a registered Apple developer, so Gatekeeper can't make a security check using an Apple-issued security certificate. To get the applications to work, right-click or control-click and select "Open" from the contextual pop-up menu. This time the dialog will have the option to continue, with a warning that this will remove the application from quarantine.
• In summary: the issues with running my software on Mac OS X are generated by Apple's changing policies toward non-native software, particularly Java software, over recent years. They are beyond my control, and the future remains unclear. I have no plans to re-write my code so as to be native to any particular operating system. The point of writing software in Java is that it is cross-platform. I decided long ago not to be a developer of Windows-specific, or Apple-specific, software, even though I am mainly an Apple user.