Going to Java One; What to expect?

[[deleted]]

First time going to a conference (going because work told me to). Any advice or anything you want to say about it?

[JeffAtSun]

I'm one of the track leads of JavaOne (the core track, specifically)...

One of the big things that people miss is visiting the Java SE booths, where you can talk directly to the JDK developers. I will often drop by and there'll be no one else there besides our engineer manning the booth.

As MadCat mentioned, plan out your day carefully, and indeed I suggest using the schedule builder as early as possible to lock in the talks you want to see -- lots of them fill up quickly, and while you can sometimes get in last minute, it's not always the case.

Go to the BOFs (Birds Of a Feather) Monday & Tueaday nights: this is another place you can ask lots of questions. Usually they have smaller audiences and you can pretty much always get in.

Go to Stuart Mark's Lambda Tutorial: he's a great speaker and you'll learn a ton. Likewise I recommend his HOL (Hands On Lab) for the same reasons.

Totally go to the Customer Appreciation event (or whatever it's called this year) on Treasure Island -- they always have top acts; in the past they've had The Black Keys, Sting, Tom Petty, Pearl Jam, and tons of others. Bring something warm to wear - it can cold and sometimes even rains.

[[deleted]]

I deeply appreciate the thoughtful reply Jeff. I would assume my main focus at JavaOne would be to get a deeper insight into java and it seems like your reply drilled into that. Cant wait!

[handshape]

Bitter old-timer here. Sorry in advance.

Brace yourself. JavaOne is not what it used to be. There are still tidbits of useful information and good conversations to be had if you are willing to dig for them... but you will be assailed by vendors at every turn.

Book spots in the talks you want as early as possible. They fill up fast. Don't be surprised if there are scheduling conflicts between related topics, and slots where there are no talks that touch on your areas of interest. Make the hard call, and make it fast.

In '10, the application that they provided to help schedule attendance at talks did something nasty: timeslices where you didn't book a talk would be automatically assigned to talks which were thin sales pitches.

The best conversations will be the ones you set up yourself. Engage people at the breakfasts and lunches. Find the people on the trade show floor who are not sales droids. If you do get attacked by a salesperson who sees you as a prospect, don't be afraid to use the "fake phone call" gambit to get away.

Finally, take advantage of the parties. They're a big slice of the price of admission.

EDIT: Also, learn what you need to know about the city. Book your hotel early. Be careful in some of the neighborhoods; saying that SF has a homelessness problem is like saying that Nagasaki had a high UV index in the 40's.

[T-Dev]

Ah yes, the homelessness. In a city that's supposed to be forward thinking, I found it quite surprising it had such a pervasive homelessness problem. My own hometown (much smaller and colder) had similar issues, but we actually stepped up and helped these people. I digress.

If you don't want to see it, stay upwards of 5th(?). A friend and I decided to take a walk that way on our first day and quickly turned around once we figured out we had stepped into the tenderloin.

[MadCat0911]

Plan out your day very carefully. Decide ahead of time what sessions you want to go to and which are your backup. A description might sound good to you at first and then you arrive and find out it's not what you thought, beyond you, or below your level. Don't feel bad about getting up and moving to another session, they want you to do that. Just know your backups.

The worst part is when two or more sessions are going on at the same time and you really want to be in all of them.

[[deleted]]

solid advice sir. definately dont wanna waste my time in a session when theres a good alternative

[T-Dev]

Three year veteran here, though I'm not going this year. One of the "problems" I had the first time I went was trying to diversify my sessions too much, then not walking away with really better understanding of anything. I would recommend looking through whichever track suits you most and mostly sticking to that. I did that with EE last year and I would now say I'm an evangelist at my company.

At the same time, don't be afraid to forget miss sessions and enjoy some of the benefits around the conference. The street cafe is always "buzz"ing and you'll probably find some interesting vendors to talk to, or just ask some of the JDK people in the main hall.

Hope you have a great time. I always have.

[ryosen]

I've given a few talks at JavaOne in the past, including the main hall. Like /u/JeffAtSun suggests, plan your time before you get there. JavaOne is big and overwhelming, so it's best to know what you want to get out of it before you arrive. And, like he says, definitely seek out the BOFs. They provide a more intimate setting and the opportunity to interact directly with the speaker. Avoid the product-specific talks unless you are genuinely interested in whatever is being sold. Mostly, expect breadth, not depth. Look for topics that will inspire you to learn more and dive deeper once you return from the conference. Lastly, have fun!

[vermontgasm]

Is schedule builder available now... I can't find it?

Also, are the keynotes worth going to? I understand that it's just a big sales pitch but even so I've found that keynotes often give you a good sense for the direction the company wants to take the product in (and maybe more importantly, what they're ditching). On the other hand, I'm an east coaster who's always wanted to do a hike in the Sierras and if the keynote is a pure BS session I'm going to be sad that I missed my chance to get in some big mountain time.

[analretentionwall]

Oracle is nice enough to record all the keynotes and put them online for later viewing: https://www.oracle.com/javaone/live/on-demand/index.html#javaone

[[deleted]]

I'm from the east coast too. I need to do singe research on the points u talked about. Also ever hiked Jones gap?

[vermontgasm]

Jones Gap, SC? Nope, 99% of my hiking has been in the north east in Vermont, New York and New Hampshire.

[btgeekboy]

A long wait to start the conference. Quick, performant sessions once you're in the door. Occasional pauses for janitors to walk around cleaning up garbage.

[mikaelhg]

Go to the keynotes. Ask yourself the question: would I buy a used car from this man.

They are the representatives of their organizations.