Why indeed. I have raised this to Cisco developers ad nauseum. They are moving to more of a pure html schema with the upcoming release of LMS. Even that, though, will still have dependency on a specific JRE (1.42_something if I recall correctly). For now, you can use the parts of LMS and RWAN that aren't java-based applets despite the suite's error warning. Using any of the java applets (CiscoView, Campus Manager, etc.) requires the exact JRE noted in the documentation (1.41_02) and no substitutes are accepted. This is hard coded in the applet and there is no reliable work around. Some have reported limited success by using the Java control panel and having multiple JREs loaded on their machine. This is a bit tricky though and may not work in all situations.
Thus the great myth of Java (write once, run anywhere) is exposed. The cynic might observe that a MS-based implementation would be prefereble. the purist would opine that a pure html W3C-compliant app would be the way to go. The realist just sighs and goes about working with what he (or she) is given.
