As far as making an standalone app, it takes a LOT more work than you may realize. Java was most likely chosen as it's the most "universal" of open programming languages.
To elaborate, .NET is proprietary to Microsoft, meaning that it was designed specifically for Windows. In order for it to work with any other OS, it has to have it's own version, which is why the curse client has two seperate downloads.
Minion has one download, which is compatible across all platforms and doesn't require much on the coder's end for this. You have Java to thank for it. It may not be the "best-of-the-best" as far as languages go, but it's the easiest to work with.
However, because you lacked the knowledge to correctly uninstall runtime (as you've admitted) or didn't bother to scan a Java app before installing it (giving you the virus) doesn't make Java the "biggest uber crap". That's user error. Unfortunately, the only two fixes for that are 1) add more info to the user.lib for better logical decisions or 2) replace user.
