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Hollow Victory for the Java Faithful: Page 2 of 2

Including Sun's JVM in Windows XP is unlikely to undo the damage wrought by Microsoft. The differences in versions of Java used across the Web make it nearly impossible for a single JVM to handle all applets properly, and Web developers have long since turned to alternative technologies, such as Flash and Shockwave, to deliver rich, interactive sites.

Software vendors requiring a specific version of the JVM have long since distributed the correct JVM or directed administrators to the correct version for download during the installation process. We have grown comfortable with this process, and if a Java application or applet is the means by which we interact with a device or manage an application, we'll deal with the additional installation if necessary rather than trust that the version installed and distributed with the OS is the correct one.