In reference to yesterday's book-length commentary on Swing, it looks like Sun both agrees with me on the sad state of the Windows Look and Feel that comes with Sun's Java Virtual Machine for Windows.

From their site:
The ideal Swing application running under the Windows look and feel would be indistinguishable from its native running counterparts, however due to both changes in the native Windows look and feel (Windows 98, Windows 2000, etc.) and atrophy of our existing Windows look and feel implementation, this has not been the reality.

Luckily with Java 1.4, they've also apparently done something about it, and the above link details what's been changed. Looks like they've done a much better job than before, if the next quote (same link) is any indication:

In other words, if a running Swing application detects that a particular user preference (such as Menu fading) doesn't exist, then the windows look and feel will not execute that feature.

I've been using 1.3.1 to stay current with what I can find crossplatform (Mac OS X currently the limiting reagent). I'll certainly have to check 1.4 out -- not only for this new look and feel but also for new drag & drop functionality, among other pluses -- once version one of ye olde app has been released.