The Java Embedding Plugin's PPC and Intel binaries are compiled from
the same source code, so they should perform identically. (A
"universal binary" is just a package that contains individual binaries
for more than one platform.) Furthermore, only the appropriate binary
gets used on a particular platform (PPC or Intel) -- so exactly the
same binary gets run on a PPC Mac, whether it's from a "universal"
"package" or a PPC-only "package".
Be aware that (as the Readme also says) current versions of the Mac
distros of Mozilla.org browsers all bundle a recent version of the
Java Embedding Plugin. There's no point in changing this unless a
more recent version of the Java Embedding Plugin has become available
(one that isn't yet bundled with a release version of any Mozilla.org
browser). The Readme tells you how to upgrade the bundled JEP to a
newer version.
You can see which JEP version you're running by entering
"about:plugins" in the location bar (you may need to scroll down a
bit).
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
The Readme.txt says:
"If your Mozilla.org browser is old enough not to work with universal binary plugins, you will need to use the PPC-binary copies of these files."
What if your browser is updated, but your processor is PPC-only? (I have a first-generation iMac G5.)
Which plugins (Intel or PPC) would be better, performance and/or stability-wise, in this situation?
The Java Embedding Plugin's PPC and Intel binaries are compiled from
the same source code, so they should perform identically. (A
"universal binary" is just a package that contains individual binaries
for more than one platform.) Furthermore, only the appropriate binary
gets used on a particular platform (PPC or Intel) -- so exactly the
same binary gets run on a PPC Mac, whether it's from a "universal"
"package" or a PPC-only "package".
Be aware that (as the Readme also says) current versions of the Mac
distros of Mozilla.org browsers all bundle a recent version of the
Java Embedding Plugin. There's no point in changing this unless a
more recent version of the Java Embedding Plugin has become available
(one that isn't yet bundled with a release version of any Mozilla.org
browser). The Readme tells you how to upgrade the bundled JEP to a
newer version.
You can see which JEP version you're running by entering
"about:plugins" in the location bar (you may need to scroll down a
bit).