Java is commonly considered the ideal language for implementing software for the Internet. A closer look, however, reveals that distributed programming is poorly supported in Java. This is because the very design of the language rules out distribution-transparent remote invocation. It is shown that Sun's technology for distributed Java programming, RMI, makes things worse by allowing two different invocation semantics to hide behind an object variable. The consequences of using CORBA instead of RMI are investigated. Various options for changing either RMI or Java itself are considered, so that language platforms supporting a high degree of distribution transparency could be built.