I would ask the opposite question. Why are y'all still using C++? C _is_ faster from what I understand, and Java is basically a better, safer replacement for C++ (and equally as fast on big enough applications).
Steve Yegge has some great thoughts about how C++ should die, in favor of Java (not that he likes Java either, though he loves the JVM).
It apparently depends on which Java GUI toolkit (Swing, SWT, etc) you use, but yes, 90% of Java apps on most platforms have massive UI latency and look like shit.
Steve Yegge has some great thoughts about how C++ should die, in favor of Java (not that he likes Java either, though he loves the JVM).