The best replacement for applets is servlets.

The best alternatives to applets are rated as following:
★★★★★  servlets
★★★  applications
★★  activex
★  appzilla
★  application
★  java applications
  java application
  java servlets

Your alternative for applets is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about applets, one probably shouldn't forget about threads.

Other search terms related to applets and their ratings are:
★★★★★ threads
★★★ jdbc
★ servlets
rmi
network security
You have in mind a companion for applets and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of applets in all years. Click on graph for more.
applets
servlets
applications