The problem lays in the UI. Most of what a modern application does is provide a decent UI to interact with data on a remote server. Swing was a terrible UI library. I never saw a java applet that wasn't ugly and clunky.
None of them have anything to do with lack of skill using Swing.
> None of them have anything to do with lack of skill using Swing.
Can you name me 10 swing apps that look good? I can do the same for the web and MacOS. I'm not sure I'd be able to name 10 for windows, but I can name at least two.
Anyway, InteliJ, SwingUI Weather app, any app using Substance, Alloy, JGoodies or Synthetica theme libraries.
No need to be nasty. I chose 10 at random because it's a decent sample size without being too onerous for an online discussion. If I wanted to earn internet discussion points, I would have made it 10,000.
I'll take a look at those and get back to you. I'm very curious. Unlike some commenters (not a jab at any particular person or even a particular site, just a general observation of commenters online), I like it when I'm proven wrong about something. I'd rather know than live in ignorance.
But I agree: HTML/CSS/JS is far easier (eg: threading) and generally results in a more polished experience.