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JavaOne wrap-up

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:37:40 GMT

(I had intended to release this earlier, but after 4 full days of conferencing and partying, I just didn't have the energy and the concentration to finish it. But here it goes.)

JavaOne is over. Five days of keynotes, sessions, exhibitions and thousands of people moving between them. This was my first official JavaOne, although I had a discover pass two years ago when I just happened to be in San Francisco when the conference happened, but I only saw the general keynotes that time. Now, thanks to the blogger pass I got from Oracle, I had full-access to all the sessions and keynotes from Oracle OpenWorld, Oracle Develop and JavaOne. Which means that it was just too much for me or anyone to attend everything. I tried to attend the main keynotes and a couple of sessions that interested me. In the end, I got back what I expected, which was to find new things, meet new people and have fun.

So, what was the main theme for JavaOne this year? There was concern from some of the people I talked to regarding whether Oracle will continue its support for Java, and most important, for the Java community, which I think is what has made Java so popular. It seems that Oracle at least is taking Java to its next versions, 7 and 8, with a somewhat clear path. It also seems that they're starting to listen to some feedback from the community, but on the other hand they were very ambiguous on the whole "making Java free" issue. In fact, some sessions that were given by Oracle employees had PR people there just to make sure nothing was said about the matter. So much for improving the confidence of attendees regarding Java. It also seems that they will keep trying to push JavaFX (sans the scripting language) to people, and although the demos were cool, didn't we see the same years ago? Lots of mixed feelings about this. There also seems to be some push back into the mobile arena, in which they were very careful not to mention Android, by the way. But in all, it seems that Oracle will continue to support and promote Java in the foreseeable future.

As a closing note, I really think that Oracle really needs to separate JavaOne into its own conference, and put it back where it belongs, at the Moscone. A big part of these conferences is the ability to network with your peers, but here it was close to impossible since you had to basically run from one building to another for the sessions, and then run or take a bus if you wanted to see Oracle's keynotes at the Moscone (I never made it on time to the keynotes). Oracle tried to give the message that they're committed to Java, but by joining the conference to their main event it almost makes it seem like JavaOne has become an afterthought to them, a second-class citizen from their big corporate event. Sure, you get to give bigger events like the Appreciation Party, but I'd gladly trade that for having Java stand on its own. If they are really committed, they should "put their money where their mouth is" and make sure JavaOne is a standalone event.

Oracle Appreciation Event with The Black Eyed Peas

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 21:02:30 GMT

Not everything in JavaOne is about Java. Since Oracle decided to combine all of its conferences (OpenWorld, Oracle Develop and now that they own Sun, JavaOne), they did a massive party at Treasure Island in San Francisco. Around 50,000 people went there to enjoy different bands and artists, like the Steve Miller Band, Don Henley, Berlin, Montgomery Gentry, The English Beat. But the main event to me was none other than The Black Eyed Peas. They did a wonderful job in getting the audience excited, and they played many of their hit songs from several of their albums.

That concert totally made my day. I leave you here with a sample.

Comments about JavaOne

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:18:27 GMT

Well, I was going to try and talk about every session that I've been to, and about many of the new and old frameworks that I've seen, but one of the downsides of having the sessions in multiple hotels is that you're basically running from one place to another in between session. But I will eventually try to talk about all the things I've seen at JavaOne. At least it gives me material to keep posting stuff for a while.

I'm also very excited because as part of the Basement Coders podcast, we were able to interview many people. And we have a very special podcast coming out pretty soon in which we interview the Father of Java, James Gosling. Yes, that's right, we talked to him for a full hour and we discussed many things, including Oracle's ongoing lawsuit against Google and the controversy regarding his position for making Java free. I think it is a very interesting talk and you should definitely listen to it.

In general, I've enjoyed the conference so far, and I'll keep discussing the different aspects of it. I've actually felt good that I've talked to some people who've I've never met, and they tell me they've actually read my blog before. I think that is the best incentive for me to keep doing this for a long time. Thank you all for your comments.