Also, what features in the 1.8 JDK are we using that we actually need? Are we coding to the new API or are we just saying "for some reason it seems like it only runs on 1.8 because we get a stack trace and we don't investigate it"? I'll accept that as a valid response if there is some UI based objects that really make our lives easier in 1.8. When I compared 1.6 to 1.7 for our dev shop there was like one deal breaker feature we needed (granted our code was business objects and not UI heavy).
Java 8 got some improvements we heavily use like CompletableFuture and lambda expressions.
Acceptable rebuttal, intelligent and specific reason given, statement retracted. And I was not intending to insult anyone. This usability stuff is always a balancing act.
@patmast3r - Your point is absolutely taken, I'm just trying to constantly remind everyone how low the bar really is, so
where possible let's make strategic decisions. In this case I think people just wanted a solid justification for the "latest and greatest" tendency concern, which has now been given. That certainly wasn't a jab at the devs, whom I respect. Just don't forget how mind bendingly inefficient the average person is on a piece of technology. Statements like "this will someday replace fiat" require the minimum amount of barriers. As you said, that time frame is much larger than the small window of struggle we are seeing here, so acknowledged.