On my old launcher, there is a message in red text saying:
You are running on an old version of Java. Please consider using the new Minecraft installer which doesn't require Java, as it may make your game faster
I updated Java to the newest version (just to see if the message would go away). After updating java I opened up my launcher and it still said I'm using an older version of Java. When I try to install an updated java now it says tells me I already have the newest version. So I gave in and downloaded the new installer.
I tried using the new launcher after some debate to play on a minecraft server and not getting the message to go away. When I entered the server on the (Java free) launcher, the window kept freezing (Not responding) And when I tried to type for other players to know I wasn't able to move the text bar kept highlighting and deleting random letters and words from what I was typing.
I would type something like:
"I can't type, and I can't move my window isn't responding"
and it would highlight random letters in blue and words in green then send as
"an' pe iwin'spo"
The whole text thing was very quick and I cannot screen cap it. If I type slow the text gets deleted almost instantly. Like minecraft is the worlds worst auto-correct and I couldn't turn it off. It also took up more of my cpu than using the old launcher. But with less quality, it was definitely worse.
I immediately went back to the old launcher but I'm wondering if the new launcher isn't working yet (Still has lots of bugs) or if it is dangerous in some way since I haven't seen much evidence or updates from minecraft on my launcher page other than the red text.
Oh, also with the new launcher, when I open it up my computer wallpaper flickers, then all my icons temporarily become blank white page icons. They all return to normal pretty quickly but the 1 second everything seems to blank out is making me very afraid that this was a dangerous launcher for my computer. I won't open it again because I don't like my computer acting like it's going to blue screen.
I have Windows 7, 64 bit, on a Toshiba laptop with 4gb of ram.
Best Answer
The launcher has 2 flavors. A java based installer and a non-java based installer.
Both version install the launcher. Once that is done the launcher and the game do require Java. Given your post I would recommend that you download Java 8 for x86-64 if you do not already have it.
When you download the launcher installer be certain to ONLY download it from minecraft.net after logging into your account. If you download it from any other site or attempt to use a 'cracked' version then I wouldn't expect it to work and may Notch have mercy on your soul.
As with the game, be certain that you download Java Runtime ONLY from the trusted site.
If you have errors with Java 8 x86-64 then I would begrudgingly suggest uninstalling and installing Java 7 x86-64 instead.