Why did Java fail as an internet client platform?

The reason I reflect on it now is that Flex has gained a lot of traction and I am using it now for a project. It's pretty much the same concept as a Java applet but Adobe has done so much better than Sun. First, the client penetration of the Flash Runtime is higher than the Java runtime. Second, if you do need to install it, the entire runtime is 1.5MB. That is less than the Java runtime back in the year 2000!

To test my software on a Mac, I have to buy one?

huh? I looked everywhere for some way to virtualize a Mac for testing purposes. Nothing. Based on my research it looks difficult to impossible to install Mac OS X on anything but Mac hardware. It's pretty much Russian Roulette if you try it. It will work or it won't. So I ordered a Mac Mini.

I haven't used a Mac since college. They look beautiful and I am looking forward to having one. However, my mind has been trained to view a computer as a sum of upgradeable parts not a single shrink-wrapped device like an iPod. What would happen if Apple became the dominant computer system. They would have a software + hardware monopoly. Very scary.