To say that not too much is written in java would be terribly uninformed. One major java project (Eclipse) received more than 1 million downloads in the 41 days following the last major release (3.1).
The fact that Eclipse is primarilly used as a java development environment (or IDE), clearly speaks to the fact that java is more than just a small, seldom used language.
Fact is that most large companies today - banks, auto companies, you name it - are running mission critical line of business applications written in Java. If you want to land a good job in corporate IT today, Java remains your best bet.
Every major software company still alive (save for Micro$oft) is betting heavily on Java, including IBM, Borland, BEA and Computer Associates (CA).
I personally use Java, PHP and ASP. They all have their place. Not all of us will live in a place where Java belongs, but where it fits, it is clearly the best solution.
Also, it is not clear to me how one can "turn off" java. Hop on over to bea.com and tell me how you can turn that off.
Also not sure how one can come to the conclusion that java is slow. I don't believe eTrade.com would agree. Not sure how to turn them off either.
As far a spyware, the fact is that most spyware is NOT java at all, but rather c and c++. Just like most "viruses" and "worms" are written in VB by high school kids. It is not the programming language, but rather the programmer, who creates spyware. Any language can be used for malicious purposes.
I, too fully believe in the power of PHP - for non-transactional, lightweight, simple systems. PHP remains a long way from legacy systems integration, transaction management, asynchronous messaging, and many of the other concepts that have been designed into the java platform.
If you have something serious to do - like run a company built around a system - PHP would not be my first choice.
If you have a website to build for a hobby, a small business, university project or small database application, PHP will get you there much quicker.
As in all things when it comes to technology - it just depends.