Java 6 Update 10 (and up) is a lot more than an update, in it large parts of the core GFX and GUI engine were rewritten under the hood - not at least to support Window Vista's new features such as 3D user interface and 100% vector graphic based GUI. Java 6 Update 7 was the last release with the "classic", pixel oriented GUI code (8 and 9 don't exist). For more details of the U10 release, which I personally would call Java 6.5 rather than the understated "Update 10", see
https://jdk6.dev.java.net/6u10ea.htmlObviously the new GFX engine utilizes your operating system GUI drivers a lot more and in more sophisticated ways. So I strongly recommend to update your native GFX card drivers, and if you are on Windows, your DirectX libraries. Let me add that JDK6U10 and U11 work perfectly for me with JavaFibs on several GFX cards, including ATI Radeon, Matrox G400, and NVidia GForce with recent drivers.
I've seen minor issues, e.g. a one-time flicker when the first checker is moved on Radeon. Doesn't happen on the other two. This emphasizes how dependent JDK6U10 is on good GFX drivers.