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Java Coffee Break

IBM does JUGS

Dateline: 12/1/97

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Jason Woodard, the Community Coordinator for IBM Java Marketing. As the Vice Chairman of a local Java User Group (JUG) (Web Tech) [and founder of another (Mid-Atlantic Java User Group)], our paths crossed when I registered our JUG to receive a free IBM JUG kit. I was so impressed with what IBM is doing with JUGs, that I thought I would share my findings. For anyone running a JUG, I would definitely recommend registering. In August, there were around 40 JUGs registered, with about 30% of them international.

Did someone say free stuff?

First off, what do you get with the "IBM JUG kit" when you register? The kit is packed with lots of free goodies. You get free T-shirts, books from O'Reilly, CDs of various products - from VisualAge for Java, to NetObjects Fusion, the Java Education World Tour courseware, and more. The two things that surprised me the most were a discount on O'Reilly books for all JUG members and a gift certificate for Domino's pizza for the group president. While the O'Reilly book discount doesn't help me much (I wrote one), its a welcome discount available to all the JUG members worldwide. [For those unfamiliar with the Cult of O'Reilly, Jimmy Guterman offers a view into it.] The Domino's link baffled me until Jason mentioned that IBM occasionally provides Domino's pizza at meetings they host/sponsor.

In addition to the free goodies (and dealing with customs when appropriate), IBM will help you arrange for speakers and facilities, provide web-space, and even offers a calendar applet to display events to your user group community. (They are looking into providing mailing lists for JUGs, but do not provide this service at this time.) You can use all or none of the available resources. Just looking at Sun's (and IBM's) JUG list, there are still several JUGs that need home pages. (In the Focus on Java JUG list, a JUG is only listed if it has a website.) Having a central place to approach for user group speakers is very welcome, and this is being taken advantage of with various groups, even internationally. While the arranging of speakers isn't easy, IBM is working with their business partners to provide appropriate speakers whenever possible.

Why?

So, why is IBM doing this? What does IBM hope to gain? This question is the obvious one that comes up, to me at least. There were at least five points here that Jason Woodard brought up in our discussion, the key reason being that IBM wants to strengthen the Java community (and support the Java revolution). By engaging developers at the grass roots level, the program allows IBM to get in contact with people normal IBM channels wouldn't. People at universities, general websites, developers, JUGs, and small independent companies. In the process, they hope to make Java a real option for businesses and customers. Other reasons included getting feedback directly from developers, especially product feedback.

This user group coordinator welcomes the IBM initiative and hopes other companies follow suit. It seems like Microsoft is trying their own approach by inviting developers directly to Redmond, on their dime. This developer will be passing on the opportunity, as I attended the first summit. While I welcomed the networking opportunity, I was disappointed in the 2 days of pure Microsoft Marketing gospel presented.

Getting Started / Tools / News Watch

IBM recently updated their free online Java training course. No plug-in required now. Also, WebWeek presents an article on how IBM is betting big on Java.

CNET offers a review of Java Workshop from Sun.

MSDN talks about going native with J/Direct and PCWeek Online reports no Java on Windows CE.

The Java Developer Connection offers Programming Tips from the Swing Guru.

Symantec offers their competitive comparison to JBuilder and J++.

Get the final release for the JDK 1.1 support patch for Communicator 4.03/4.

Reports on AFC problems.... AFCs snarl developers and expect the release of the Enterprise JavaBeans specification next week at Internet World.

New at The Mining Co. is the Focus on JavaScript hub. Repeat after me: JavaScript is not Java. To learn about the differences, do stop by the JavaScript site.

While technically not 100% Java related, this resource will help you find what Java books are hot over at Amazon. Someone at StudioB, a literary agency, put together a list of all the different best seller lists at Amazon. While there is a Java category list to find the all-time best selling Java books at Amazon, this isn't the only category that has Java titles. You will also find them under General Programming Topics, as well as CORBA, among others, too. Still waiting for my books to show up there... ;-)

Other Tidbits

Plan your schedule to be in San Francisco, CA from March 23-27, 1998. Don't miss JavaOne '98 at the Moscone Center again. Watch the Tracks & Sessions page for details on the various sessions. Sign up for updates with the JavaOne '98 mailing list. Also, stop by the Java Users Group Meeting at Internet World on December 8, 1997 in New York City. If you are going to Manhattan for Internet World, check out the Interactive Manhattan Subway Map. Also, for the J++ enthusiast, there is a Visual J++ conference in Los Angeles next April. On the contest front, win a copy of SuperCede Java Edition at Inside-Java.com.

I'll be back next week with more things to do and places to go. If you have any questions or topic suggestions, let me know or submit feedback. See you next time.

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