OS 10.7 "Lion" users - Get JRE installed
 

There's yet another not-obvious (hoodwink, if you will) change that Apple has made to 10.7 which is directly affecting users across the board:

The Java Runtime Environment, which many apps depend on to work is no longer installed by default in the OS X build, you now have to manually install it.

Here's the best way to get it installed:


A. Go to Applications > Utilities > Java Preferences.
B. Open the Java Preferences.
C. If Java is not installed, you receive the following message:
- “To open “Java Preferences," you need a Java runtime. Would you like to install one now?”
D. Click Install and accept the license agreement. The Java runtime is downloaded and installed.

Also, if you've updated your system to Lion rather than a fresh install from purchasing a new machine, you'll also need to manually update the Flash Player plug-in for Safari otherwise OS X might "hang" on shutdown because the Flash plug-in may not fully shut itself down when you quit Safari or, if you attempt to shut down the machine with Safari still running.

Just FYI to help keep my Mac brethren from yet another Apple-branded headache or two.