Snowbound is running a three-part blog series on the end of applets and what the future holds for web applications. Check back on Wednesday and Friday for the other installments: Part 1 (Monday): The Clock is Ticking to Replace Your Java Applet Part 2 (Wednesday): Why Browser Plug-Ins

The great benefit of the Java programming language is that applications written with it can run on any platform that has a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). And there are a lot of them: PCs, Macs, UNIX systems, and even some tablets and phones support Java applications and applets. In addit