In all seriousness, everyone was in on Java. Even Microsoft (Everyone was in on Java, even Microsoft (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_J%2B%2B). So most of us saw browser plugins and applets as the future, and some of those plug-ins were very impressive in those days.
JavaScript was seen as a glue language to manipulate components built in better languages. We thought there was going to be a rich component marketplace that was going to be embedded in web pages. We didn't think we'd still be mucking around with HTML and DOM manipulations.
I also thought Java was the future. But, Java tried to be an entire virtual OS, and gained too many security holes because of that. Flash had a similar fate.
It's not that JavaScript solved that, it's that it's built into the browser such that you can't really skip it. Like the Java and Flash engine, a web browser is also a fat bloated leaky client. However, if you toss the first two, you are then dealing with 1 fat client instead of 3 fat clients. It's easier to keep 1 FC up to date than 3.
Do you think the security holes killed Java and Flash? Or do you think they were just nails in the coffin?
I suspect performance and inconsistent experience killed Java applets and Sun stopped caring about desktop Java when they realized they can't make much money off it. Flash stuck around a lot longer than Java because it was fast, fun and ran consistently. It still lingered for some time after Jobs poisoned it.
Honestly, I don't think people cared that much about running updates. For most people, if the computer tells them they need to update, they update. I also don't think average users cared about security issues back then.
Re: I also don't think average users cared about security issues back then.
Recommendations in common publications to remove them unless absolutely necessary coincided with their market share slide, as I remember it.
Yes, Java applets was imperfect, but generally got better on every release. It was improving about as fast as JavaScript + DOM + CSS + HTML was.
Re: For most people, if the computer tells them they need to update, they update.
It didn't help them in that they tried to trick you into installing extra junk apps during the update process, like tool bars (AKA spam bars) and "free" anti-virus scanners.
Java had a big issue with applications that needed older versions, but the older versions often had security holes. Oracle didn't manage backward compatibility well. Trying to be a virtual OS instead of just an app platform contributed to the too-much-complexity-to-manage problem for Oracle. KISS.
