Java Web Start, a new technology to assist the development of client-side Java applications, is unique in that it frees you from concerning yourself with how the client is launched, either from a Web browser or from the desktop. Additionally, this technology provides an encompassing deployment scheme that enables a Web server to independently distribute and update client code. This article introduces this enterprising new technology, which is scheduled to be integrated in the final release of Java 1.4, describing its implementation from both the developer and the user perspective.