Hi Nikesh P Shah,
Liferay doesn't as slow as you think! At the first time, it has to compile JSP to Java ByteCode, so you may feel it 's pretty slowly. Liferay also integrates many technologies: JSR 168, ORM, ... that it's easier for you to extend your system. I think if you are familiar with Liferay, you will love it
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I haven't tried JBoss Portal and OpenPortal so I don't have any idea about them. Joomla is a very good CMS, it can be used to build a large website but if you want to build up a portal that meets your need, I think Joomla is not strong enough.
PS: Liferay doesn't use Applet technology. It uses J2EE technology.