The Internet is a mine of information (and disinformation). JavaOne is the official Java conference organized by the developers of Java. So all the top people from Oracle are there in person, easily accessible and happy to talk. So if you want to find out what everyone is doing, and what the future holds it is worth being there. I asked a guy at my lunch table last year why he was there and he summed it up very nicely as 'if Java is important to your organization, you really need to attend so you know what is going on'.
And it is not just about what Oracle are up to. IBM, Redhat, Arm, Eclipse and all the other key players are there and there is a big Community section and keynote. Last year, James Gosling came back to show his work on Marine robots.
JavaOne is a huge opportunity to catch-up with your peers, competitors, customers, potential customers, and even potential employers. Dealing with people offline is always much easier once you have met over a few beers!
The trade show is a chance for exhibitors to speak to the market and every developer to see what is on offer. We will be on stand 5714 (next to our friends from IText) and we welcome anyone to drop by and chat. We actually have 75 JavaOne Discover passes (which give you free access to the exhibition Hall and keynotes) and we are giving these away to the first 75 people who contact us.
The talks give you access to a very talented pool of developers talking in depth and happy to answer questions. If you want to find out the thinking behind the Java roadmap all the people are there in person. If you don't understand why Mark Reinhold has suggested something for Java, you can ask him!
Finally, the parties and events lets you meet a huge range of fellow Java developers. JavaOne has been growing in the last few years and I think the need for this interaction is a key reason.
JavaOne is a very intense week (make sure you catch-up on sleep on the plane!). As developers we often spend our time attached to our desks and screens and rather isolated. And a lot of the communication we get with people is often quite negative (endless meetings, deadlines, bugs to fix).
JavaOne is the week I step away from the computer to 'renew' myself. It is an investment in my skills and me. I get loads of new ideas, meet lots of people, party way too much and come back bursting with optimism and enthusiasm again.
So that is why I will be attending JavaOne. What are your reasons for going (or not going)?
Next time I will be listing 5 things you must do at JavaOne….
We will also be in Silicon Valley/Palo Alto/San Francisco the week before visiting current (and possibly future) clients and showing them developments (XFA and PDF to HTML5/SVG especially). If you would like us to visit (it is totally free and there is no obligation but we do need to know so we can book flights/schedule activities) you can let us know via our contact usor by social media (Twitter and Facebook.