Norman,
Try updating to LabVIEW 6.0.2 to get all of the ActiveX fixes and try the ActiveX method again. (You cannot do this if you only have the Evaluation version.) You can also call java from the System Exec.vi if you do not need data directly back (you can transfer it many other ways: files, TCP, pipes, etc).
Also, see the following:
http://exchange.ni.com/servlet/ProcessRequest?RHIVEID=101&RNAME=ViewQuestion&HOID=506500000008000000102D0000&ECategory=LabVIEW.LabVIEW+General
http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/websearch/BEE812007BA2A9B486256BC80068A49A?OpenDocument
Randy Hoskin
Applications Engineer
National Instruments
http://www.ni.com/ask