Why does my applet throw a NullPointerException from the AWT Dispatch Event thread?
The events that occur during applet startup and shutdown may differ between the Microsoft and Sun implementation of the Java platform. For example, the logic in an applet may rely on the applet being visible when Applet.start()/Applet.stop() is called. That condition may be true when the applet is run on Microsoft’s implementation, but may not be true on Sun’s impelementation. Applets that rely on specific events that occur during startup and shutdown on Microsoft’s implementation of the Java platform may not work properly on JRE/Java Plug-in. The most common symptom of this type of problem is a NullPointerException from the AWT Dispatch Event thread.
