In ye olden dayes, building big, interactive experiences on the web wasn't possible without Java (or ActiveX). Even the first iteration of JavaScript couldn't i

In ye olden dayes, building big, interactive experiences on the web wasn't possible without Java (or ActiveX). Even the first iteration of JavaScript couldn't interact with the live DOM and CSS hadn't come into being yet. It was a sincerely held belief by technology professionals (myself included) that a desktop UI platform was the only way to deliver rich experiences over the internet. And honestly it may have to come to pass if the early versions of Swing weren't so slow and ugly.