... and unremarkably, the software on set-top boxes and TVs (and perhaps washing machines--mine's pretty buggy considering the number of inputs and outputs involved) is uniformly terrible, along with most pre-Android Java-based phones. Not to mention the overhead required to run something like Java in an embedded system was until very recently, bad for keeping costs down.

It's notable that the current, much more successful, wave of embedded platforms suitable for DIY work don't run Java.