No JavaOne

If you're a professional Java developer, you really can't have missed it: past week was the week of the annual JavaOne conference. And somehow I managed not to attend it once again. As a Java enthousiast since 1994 (the beta) and a Java professional since 1999, I often wonder why I never attended a single JavaOne conference.

It probably has to do with two things. First I'm not a big conference-go'er to begin with. I know conferences are a great way to get a glimpse at all kinds of technology and -more importantly- are about the best way to improve your network, but somehow I prefer learning a new technology by working with it. And networking... well, that's not really my thing.

The second reason I never attended JavaOne must be the distance. Coming from Europe, it's really quite a journey to attend a conference on the other side of the pond. It's not just the journey itself, but it's also all the arrangements you have to make. Including getting my employer to pay for the trip, because -let's face it- these things aren't cheap.

So once again I didn't get to see the keynote and the introduction of new cool Java-based technology. And once again I didn't get to see the winner in the T-shirt hurling contest. But then again, neither did anyone else because the T-shirt hurling was canceled this year.