I see it@@

We've really never had it so good! Flex/Flash, Silverlight, JavaFX, etc... all great tools! Personally, I like Flex communicating with a Glassfish instance via BlazeDS. But I'm looking at JavaFX/Applets with intrigue. I spent 3 years writing apps that we're deployed via WebStart and I should be able to transfer my skills easily. Though my current contract requires AJAX I cannot say I'm a fan. Javascript and CSS development takes too long to reap quality results between browsers.

Duh! Why was it even mmissing from the polling options?

I agree with christiaan_se, we already have all the technology to create "extremely rich" client applications: Java, Web Start, Swing, RMI etc. Why would anyone wanna use inferior solutions like JavaScript, Ajax, Flash, web apps etc.? Beats me...

Definitely "Internet-enabled native apps". Why is there so much focus on making internet applications more "richer"? Why not make rich (swing) applications "webenabled"? Probably with zero changes to existing applications you can bring these rich swing applications to a webbrowser environment. Impossible? Not really, we already do this using Microsoft's rdp technology, which nicely renders our swing application in the webbrowser! Sun, what is your alternative?

Each one of them has its own usage. We cannot compare them with each other. I mean, each one of them is more suitable than others depending on the usage itself. Flash/Flex/Silverlight are for media-based applications like youtube for example. Or may be for advertisments. DHTML\Ajax based applications are like business applications like stock exchange applications or may be emails, like gmail and yahoo. Applets are not my favourites due to dependancy on having JVM installed (which is not available for all the customers) and having it installed as a plug-in also for the browser. Same goes for JWS. For both applets and JWS; you have to have an experinced user with high speed connection to the internet to be able to use any of them perfectly. Actually, sometimes, the application may be too simple to have any of these. May be you just need to have it clean and simple plain servlets and JSPs.

A good written app except applets as even with Java 6 Update N they're slow. JWS is good but needs improvements in versioning and scalability in order to be a scalable platform. To me a properly written Ajax app a la Google is hard to beat, fast to load and without any plugin needed. I prefer desktop apps but I haven't seen a single groundbreaking JavaFX or applet written recently.

I would prefer Java Web Start. Works on Unix/Linux/Mac/Windows and it is more reliable than applets (maybe that will change with Java6u10). Most important thing - it does not convert Internet into Microsoft Network.

At least, it should be in the list.

So long as the new 6u10 plugin behavior is equal to or better than Flash/Flex. I've downloaded 6u10 with FF3 and browsed to the Pivot applet. It loaded slowly with poor loading progress feedback (well none actually). Also, due to the beta state of the plugin, I haven't been able to test what the user experience is like for someone who doesn't haven any Java plugin installed at all (or the old broken MS JVM). I know what that user experience is like for someone who doesn't have the latest flash, and it handles the installation superbly, and seamlessly beings running all flash applets on the page after the new install. I hope that 6u10 will work the same way. Seamless "zero-friction" install, no adware (no systray icon, etc), small download, and applet launch FAST with good default progress loading feedback (deterministic please).