JavaOne show to continue online

By Alun Williams

Posted on 16 Jun 2003 at 11:27

The Java event JavaOne, which finished last week in San Francisco, is set to continue its existence online.

The site, JavaOne Online, will feature all things Java - articles, 'Webinars', streaming video, classified ads, a discount bookstore and games of material that includes.

'We're continuing the momentum of the JavaOne conference by creating a year-round global community of Java technology developers online,' said the senior director of Software Developer Marketing and Management at Sun, Mike Bellissimo. 'Sun wants to extend the physical JavaOne event to a virtual experience, one that enables developers to do more with Java by connecting with each other to find solutions, discuss issues and stay in contact with the JavaOne community and Sun.'

It will not be free, however. Sun will charge $99.95 for a year's subscription. This sounds like a tough sales proposition when so much Java-related material is already freely available online.

A keynote from Sun's Chairman, President and CEO, Scott McNealy, closed this year's event. In the speech, he claimed the nature of the software industry was changing, and that Java was well placed to take advantage.

'Plastic-wrapped, metal-wrapped, rack-wrapped and gift-wrapped software distribution models are rapidly replacing the standard shrink-wrapped model, changing the very essence of the software industry,' said McNealy. 'Consumers more and more will demand Java-based mobile devices like phones and PDAs essentially ending the consumer era of software sold separately.'

McNealy also took the opportunity to attack Java's arch rival: the Microsoft .Net framework. Using the conceit of report cards, he compared the two. 'Java graduated summa cum laude, top of the class based on scalability, upstanding community membership, choice, lowest TCO, cross-platform leverage, and security,' boasted McNealy. 'This compared to .NET, which scored poorly, failing in almost every category.'