Jake, regarding the applet, I had a similar problem with my IE browser at work. I got severely told off for downloading a later version of java runtime environment without running it past the desktop gestapo first!
I was told however that if you open your JRE from the desktop there is an option - Use IE Browser - which was checked by default. If you uncheck it (even though I WAS using IE6) magically the browser starts rendering the infernal applets - worth a try!
Jake, regarding the applet, I had a similar problem with my IE browser at work. I got severely told off for downloading a later version of java runtime environment without running it past the desktop gestapo first!
I was told however that if you open your JRE from the desktop there is an option - Use IE Browser - which was checked by default. If you uncheck it (even though I WAS using IE6) magically the browser starts rendering the infernal applets - worth a try!