No, it would not be better to use Flash instead of Java.
Java applets have two big advantages over plugins:
Java is generic. Java applets can do pretty much anything, but you need to get a new plugin for each new task.
They are platform-independent.
Two examples where Java is put to good use are ChemFinder and the NIST WebBook. Both these sites use Java to make it possible to draw chemical molecules and search for them in their databases. Using Java for this is a lot better than getting two different plugins which would only be available for a limited number of platforms.
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No, it would not be better to use Flash instead of Java.
Java applets have two big advantages over plugins:
Two examples where Java is put to good use are ChemFinder and the NIST WebBook. Both these sites use Java to make it possible to draw chemical molecules and search for them in their databases. Using Java for this is a lot better than getting two different plugins which would only be available for a limited number of platforms.
/Johan