1) An additional step during the installation process of subsequent versions that prompts the user to select a JRE.
2) Change the language of JRE errors to say this:
...instead of this...OpenOffice requires a Java runtime environment (JRE) to perform this task. This computer's JRE seems to be one of the following: 1) not selected in OpenOffice, 2) not installed on the computer, or 3) defective. Please select a JRE via Tools > Options > OpenOffice > Java. If a selected JRE does not work, then it is either incompatible or defective. If no JRE is listed there, then either you need to install a JRE or the currently installed one is defective.
Why?OpenOffice requires a Java runtime environment (JRE) to perform this task. The selected JRE is defective. Please select another version or install a new JRE and select it under Tools - Options - OpenOffice - Java.
1) OO does not automatically choose a JRE, causing some features to not work, such as the Help file. (Not having full access to the Help file is a real killjoy!)
2) The error says that the JRE is "defective", a description which often is incorrect, sending the user's mind spinning with ideas regarding "defective" JRE.
3) When no JREs are selected, the radio button looks a bit like a mere bullet point. This may cause users to think any JREs listed are already selected, especially if the user's mind is spinning with ideas regarding "defective" JRE.
4) Bottom line: Installation, in regard to JRE selection, is not user-friendly.
My story:
I just installed v4.1.1 and had to go through the frustration of figuring out why the Help file was not working. (How am I supposed to figure out anything if the Help file is not working??) I had tried to search for some topics under the "Find" tab, but OO gave me a Java Runtime Environment error, saying that my JRE was defective. ...but my JRE was not defective.
The error message told me to manually select a JRE, via Tools > Options > OpenOffice > Java. ...but looking in that spot, I saw that I already had a JRE installed. At first glance, since I was thinking "Crap, my JRE is defective!", the radio button looked like a mere bullet point, so I thought OO already had my JRE selected, and that my JRE was defective.
After searching around the Internet, it seemed that everyone pointed to using that Options directory to fix the problem. So I went back and looked again, and finally realized that it was actually a radio button, not merely a bullet point. I selected my JRE and now it works. My JRE is not defective! What a mess.