This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Java Buzz by Simon Brown. Original Post: Counting down to JavaOne! Feed Title: Simon Brown's weblog Feed URL: http://www.simongbrown.com/blog/feed.xml?flavor=rss20&category=java Feed Description: My thoughts on Java, software development and technology. Latest Java Buzz Posts Latest Java Buzz Posts by Simon Brown Latest Posts From Simon Brown's weblog

The last few weeks have flown past and we're in the final week before JavaOne. 7 days to go! I've still got a lot to do before I leave in just under a week, but as ever I'm really looking forward to it. This will be my 6th JavaOne and my 4th as a speaker (I only spoke for about 2 minutes last year so that doesn't count!). So, what keeps me coming back?

I've been asked a number of times whether the conference is worth attending and for me the answer is definitely yes. No matter how much experience you have, you'll always come away from the conference having learnt something. I think that the conference took a leap forward last year by an increase in the quality of the technical and BOF sessions from previous years and this is something that I hope will continue. However, sessions aside, the conference has many other aspects that make it worthwhile.

The conference is a great place to meet and talk to other like-minded people and there are so many opportunities for doing this including the sessions themselves, the JavaOne Pavillion, the aftershow parties and so on. Another thing that I think makes the JavaOne conference such a great event is that I always come away feeling motivated and enthusiastic about being a techie again. The atmosphere last year was amazing and, while there's so much to take onboard, many of the things you hear will start to spark ideas in your head. What you do with those ideas is up to you!

I think it's going to be another great JavaOne and I'm excited about going. Like last year, I'll be blogging from the conference but in the meantime, stay tuned this week for some pre-conference blogging about the BOFs that Sam and I are presenting and some JavaOne conference tips.