Where did all the java applets go? [closed]

I think Java applets were overshadowed by Flash and ActionScript (pun unintended), being much easier to use for what Java Applets were being used at the time (animations + stateful applications).

Flash's success in this respect in turn owes to its much smaller file sizes, as well as benefiting from the Sun vs. Microsoft suit that resulted in Microsoft removing the MSJVM from Internet Explorer, at a time of Netscape's demise and IE's heavy dominance.

1) AWT made for horrid UIs. Swing improved on that but it was too late, because...
2) Microsoft dropped support for Java in the browser (its propietary MSJVM), and before it did, it would only support the last version it released, which was roughly JDK 1.1 compatible.
3) So today you cannot be sure that an applet will run on the majority of non-developer machines, unlike flash.

Same can be said of ActiveX by the way.

For what it's worth, Sun is pouring money and resources into applets again. They've made some really significant improvements in JDK 1.6.10 to mitigate a lot of the 'clunkiness' applets used to exhibit. For instance, with this update, you can display your own custom loading image/animation while your applet loads, and the plugin has been put on a major diet to improve performance.

They've also embarked upon an initiative to directly compete with Flash and Silverlight - JavaFX.

Whether or not the market will respond to any of this remains to be seen, but it's certainly a fascinating move on Sun's part given Flash's dominance in the market place.