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

[David Rosenstrauch]

On 07/05/2017 11:23 AM, Bill Bogstad wrote:
> 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)

Does your printer support Java WebStart?  Sun/Oracle have been moving 
everyone to that as the standard applet-alternative for many years now. 
I ran into this same issue with my Lantronix Spider KVM recently, and 
was pleasantly surprised to find out that the KVM allowed me to run the 
remote access app as either applet or JavaWS, effectively making this a 
non-issue for me.

If your printer doesn't support JavaWS, I know that Mozilla has 
committed to producing an alternate version of Firefox that still 
supports applets.  So you can use that for now.  Caveat, however, is 
that they'll only be supporting that alternate version for another year 
or so.

HTH,

DR