COM and ActiveX components are still important technologies for interoperation on Microsoft Windows. One of the powers of the .NET platform is easy integration with existing code in the mentioned form. For Java-developers, the idea of COM and ActiveX seems strange at a frist glance as it obviously kills platfrom independence, one of the key benefits and the USP of Java most often cited. Still, when focusing on the Windows desktop, integration of existing technologies, especially Micosoft Office, is often an important requirenment. A commercial library promissing easy integration of COM and ActiveX components in Java Swing applications can be found here.