[Discuss] Is there a supported browser for Linux that still runs Java applets? (also Flash)

Bill Bogstad bogstad at pobox.com
Wed Jul 5 11:23:24 EDT 2017


As the web marches on, older technologies fall by the wayside.  Java applets
seem to be one of them.   All the major browsers seem to have stopped
supporting them at this point.  Unfortunately, this can result in
broken systems.  For me, my biggest use case is an older all-in-one
printer from Lexmark that uses a java applet to enable its scan to PC
functionality in a browser.  I seem to recall that java applets were
even used to support enterprise level hardware at one point.  Is this
an issue that other people are having?   Any suggestions on how to
maintain browser/java applet support going forward on a Linux system?
I'm not looking for a solution that will let me use the same browser
for all of my web browsing.   Just something which will continue to
work as I apply "mandatory" security upgrades to my systems.  (i.e.
the latest browser updates)

Oh, same question about Flash.   It isn't quite as dead as Java
applets, but it is pretty clear that it is on its way out.  There
islots of kid oriented content out there that was created using Flash
that is going to die when it goes away.  My biggest use case is MIT's
Scratch project.   They switched to implementing Scratch in Flash some
years ago.  My kids are avid scratchers and I'm worried that they may
lose access in the near future.   Unfortunately, I've been unable to
find anything on the Scratch web site about plans to deal with Flash
becoming unusable. In the modern Scratch world everything is done on
their web site so this could be a real problem for their kid/teen
oriented user base.  Thoughts/solutions?

Thanks,
Bill Bogstad



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