Comment Re:DRTFA (Score 1) 166
With all of Java's other early problems, a price tag would have ended it before it could gain any momentum.
Pretty much the same thought I had -- I was wondering what technology would occupy java's current space if they had done that.
Flash on steroids most likely as it displaced Java in a lot of areas anyway.
I always thought that ultimately, Flash all but filled the role that Java Applets were supposed to meet on the browser, but didn't.
FWIW, I'm not sure I'd blame Flash for the failure of Applets, as by the time it started to become more than a simple animation player, the latter had already had plenty of time to take off, but never had.
I suspect that this was because Java Applets were too heavyweight and slow to start at the time, whereas Flash was more in sync with what computers were capable of back then.
Of course, it's possible that in the absence of Flash, Applets might have become more popular as computers grew more powerful, but essentially I'd say they weren't so much displaced as never having succeeded on their own merits. Yes, there was (and still is, to a limited extent) some use of browser-based Java, but it never dominated like it was meant to. Flash may be in decline now, but it's enjoyed a decade- if not 15 years- as a major success.
Not that I'm saying that Java was a failure, just that- ironically- the aspect that gained *by far* the most hype at its mid-90s launch was the one it ultimately failed in.