> As new versions of Java were released, and Internet Explorer entered the scene, the HTML code required to embed your applet became increasingly complex, with different tags used for different browsers and versions or Java. The <applet> tag was advertised as the correct way to embed an applet in a “multi-browser” environment, but Internet Explorer used the <object> tag and Mozilla used the <embed> tag.

In the time I was playing around with applets (largely after the dates mentioned in this article, mind you), I don't think I came across any site using applets that didn't stick with <applet>. Using <object>/<embed> might have been more "correct," but this is also fervently an era where trying to enforce "correct" HTML usage was at best an attempt to whip the tide into submission.