JayDax Computer Information Centre

About Java Applets…

What Were Java Applets?

In the early days of the Web, HTML could only produce static pages. To make websites interactive or run complex calculations, developers relied on Java applets. These were small, compiled Java programs embedded directly into a webpage. When a visitor loaded the page, the applet ran inside a dedicated sandbox using a background tool called the Java Runtime Environment (JRE).

Applets paved the way for browser-based games, interactive scientific models, and secure file transfers long before modern web standards existed.

The Fall of the Applet: When and Why?

Java applets relied on an underlying browser architecture from the 1990s called NPAPI (Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface). Over time, this aging architecture became a major source of browser crashes, hangs, and severe security vulnerabilities. Because applets required a third-party plugin to connect the browser to a local Java installation, they became a prime target for malicious exploits.

As standard web technologies like HTML5 and JavaScript became powerful enough to handle complex interactions natively without plugins, the industry began to move on. Google Chrome led the charge by permanently removing NPAPI support in September 2015. Other major browsers eventually followed suit, with Mozilla Firefox completely removing NPAPI support (except for Flash) by early 2017. Oracle officially deprecated the browser plug-in with the release of Java 9.

The Modern Workaround: CheerpJ Applet Runner

Although native browser support is gone, you can still run legacy applets using the CheerpJ Applet Runner. Developed by Leaning Technologies, this browser extension allows you to experience classic Java applets safely on modern browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

Rather than relying on the outdated NPAPI system or requiring you to install Java on your computer, CheerpJ works by converting the legacy Java Applet into modern WebAssembly and JavaScript on the fly. It operates entirely on the client side within the secure boundaries of your browser. This means it does not contact any external servers or collect analytics, making it a safe, private way to view historical web content.

How to Get the CheerpJ Applet Runner

You can install the extension directly from your browser's official add-on store:

Google Chrome: Available in the Chrome Web Store.
Microsoft Edge: Available in the Microsoft Edge Add-ons store.
Opera, Brave, Vivaldi, etc.: As these are Chromium-based browsers, they are fully compatible and can install the extension directly from the Chrome Web Store link above.
Mozilla Firefox: The extension is not currently supported on Firefox, as it is designed specifically for Chromium-based browsers.

Once you've installed the extension make sure it appears on the browser extension bar. It will be greyed out. When you are on a page or site which used Java applets click thet greyed out icon and enable the domain to use CheerpJ.

Once you've set the domain to use CheerpJ it will remember and Java applets on the site will now work after a brief CheerpJ flash. Here - try it on this page Deer Creek

Short time-travel stories
Some time ago, when I was working on a 'how to' author website, I got to thinking about the mistakes new authors make. I decided to write a short story including as many of them as I could think of. Thus was born the first of my time-travel short story series, Ripping Time. It started with that famous line, "It was a dark and stormy night", the original title but now a series title.
Get the collection. It won't break the bank.

Ripping Time deals with Jack the Ripper.
Witch Time explains the Blair Witch mystery.
Titanic Time explains why it had to sink.
Time Flies explains why Leonardo wasn't recorded as the world's first aeronaut.
Time After Time is ALL the stories for the price of one!

Whatever your reading device you can get these short stories via https://books2read.com/tat

Or find out more at https://iwadasn.info.

Another great time travel story
The Clay Lion is a time travel story by Amalie Jahn and the start of a trilogy.
Get them all - you'll be convinced after reading the first

Door into Summer
Ever had a cat which thinks that if the weather outside one door is nasty, then it should try the door at the other side of your house? That's where the title of this superb 1957 time-travel story came from.
This was one of the first time travel stories I read after H.G. Wells' 'The Time Machine' and got me hooked on the genre.
The Door into Summer

The Middle Falls Series
Have you ever wished you could travel back in time and fix something which went wrong? We (unfortunately?) don't get that chance, but if you live in Middle Falls, you do get that chance in this series by Shawn Inmon.
Book 1 - well worth a read