Within iNotes (DominoWebAccess) working to integrate the embedded Instant messaging plugin (Sametime) once logged into iNotes & when attempting to login to Sametime I get the following error Exception in thread "thread applet-com.lotus.sametime.stlinks.client.STLinksApplet.class" java.lang.NullPointerException & then error switches to Sametime Applet Failed to Load
Turns out the issue resulted from not being able to resolve DNS, after binding IP to (FQHN) Fully Qualified Host Name the sametime applet loaded error free, now to get DNS to accomplish what the host file accomplished is my next step.
Note: Lotus Notes Template R8.5.1 design produced the same end result not being able to login to sametime, Mail files that were left at R8.5 worked as expected, food for thought.