Why is it so rare to find a decent JRE installed on the average-non-computer-savvy user's system?
Here's my suggestion.
One of my favorite programs is the webshots screensaver (www.webshots.com). Basically, it rotates beautiful, high-quality, professional photographs through both the screensaver and the desktop wallpaper.
Why can't some JRE provider develop a program like webshots in C++ (small, easily installed executable). Then, when in screensaver mode, if a web connection is available, it downloads the JRE in the background. If the connection is lost, it continues the download the next time the screen saver runs and a web connection is available. It gives priority to other programs if they happen to be using the network connection.
It doesn't have to be sneaky. You could have a "live-update" feature in the C++ program, and hey... all we're doing here is updating. (Maybe an updated version of the screensaver itself uses some
java code.) License agreements could be displayed as a part of the original C++ program's license agreement, or when it's time to install the new JRE.
Of course, it doesn't have to be a screensaver. Any program that could silently and intermittently download the java runtime in the background would do.